Basic Training

Local writers and companies lead the retrograded session beer movement.

by Tim Hyland

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Published: May 8, 2007

Chris Leonard was sure the special low-alcohol Belgian ale he dreamed up last spring was going to be a hit. Light and drinkable, "Lafayette's Escape" seemed the perfect brew for warm-weather sipping. It was, says Leonard, a brewing "masterpiece."

SCRUMPTIOUS: Victory Brewing Company's low-alcohol Donnybrook Stout recently placated an entire rugby team. (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

There was only one problem: Most of his customers didn't like it.

"The public wasn't as ready for it as I hoped," says Leonard, brewmaster at the General Lafayette Inn & Brewery in Lafayette Hill. "And today, my customers aren't asking me when I'm going to brew that 2.8 percent [alcohol by volume] Belgian again. They're asking for a 10 percent tripel."

Leonard's story isn't uni-que: Craft brewers have learned that the one guaranteed way to get good press from beer writers and keep die-hard customers happy is to release "big beers" � the kind of full-flavored, high-octane brews that attack taste buds and pack a hefty alcoholic wallop. Big beers are generally good for business, too, helping Leonard and others distinguish themselves from the fizzy-yellow BudMillerCoors world.

But now, some in the community are beginning to wonder if craft brewers have backed themselves into a big-beer corner. According to this school of malty thought, the time has finally arrived for brewers and drinkers alike to turn their attention to so-called "session beers" � smaller, more subtle brews, like Leonard's Belgian ale, that won't knock drinkers flat or scare off craft newbies. After all, how many 11 percent beers can one drinker have? How many should they have? And shouldn't there be another option?

"When I go out, I want to have a few pints," says local beer writer Lew Bryson, a session beer proponent. "It's about sipping and talking. If you're drinking extreme beer, you better get it all said within the first 30 or 45 minutes, because after that you'll be talking out your butt after you've fallen off your stool."

This year, Bryson (who's contributed to CP recently) launched a new blog, "Seen Through A Glass" (lewbryson.blogspot.com), to publicize his "Session Beer Project." The goal? To encourage the appreciation of session beers, which he defines as any brew coming in under 5.5 percent alcohol. The blog has caused somewhat of a ruckus, bringing to light philosophical differences in the beer world; if the comments section is any indication, some brewers and drinkers are steadfast in their loyalties. (One poster recently told Bryson, "If it's too big, or too hoppy ... you're too old!") Still, the fact that Bryson and others are even discussing session brews marks a significant change.

"I think sessions are something brewers have always been brewing, but they just haven't been what beer writers have written about," says Chris Trogner, co-owner of Harrisburg's Troegs Brewing Company, which boasts a popular session beer in its Rugged Trail Ale (4.4 percent). "It's a lot more interesting for them to write about a beer using off-the-wall ingredients or higher alcohol."

Session beer advocates say an emphasis on more accessible choices will help just about everyone. Brewers would benefit because, as the market has shown, lower-alcohol beers sell briskly. Bars would benefit because they could sell more beers per night (and, in theory, deal with fewer inebriated customers). Even drinkers would benefit: They might finally come to appreciate a 4 percent helles as much as their favorite 12 percent imperial stout.

"I don't have a problem with extreme beers," Bryson says. "What I have a problem with is this idea that they're the be-all and end-all. This whole thing is about variety."

At Downingtown's Victory Brewing Company � which proudly offers up popular bigs like Golden Monkey Ale and Storm King Stout � a new session, Donnybrook Stout, has proven to be an early hit. Though the stout weighs in at just 3.8 percent, Victory co-owner Bill Covaleski says it packs enough flavor to keep any beer nut happy.

"We had an entire rugby team in here recently, and they were drinking Donnybrook all afternoon," Covaleski says. "They were absolutely behaving themselves, but having a great time, drinking pint after pint. That's what session beers are all about � being social, having a little alcoholic lubrication, but not getting devastated."

Of course, Covaleski and others add, big beers will always have their place � and their fans. Extreme beers, for better or worse, have become the face of the craft beer movement. And it's going to take no small amount of work � not to mention some really inventive brewing � to get craft beer drinkers to love session beers nearly as much.

Brewers, at least, seem primed for the challenge.

"We have this new legion of craft beer drinking followers, but can we now provide them with something that is still much better quality than the standard beer they're used to, but isn't going [to cause] drunken ridiculousness?" Leonard wonders. "Can we come up with a beer that isn't going to make your mouth worn out and overpower your food? These beers are much more nuanced, more subtle [and] more interesting � and still have more flavor than Bud, Miller or Coors."

(t_hyland@citypaper.net)

 

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