pushing the limits of the craft, there has been a push back in
the other direction. A push back to session beers. Most brewers have a basic definition of what they call a session beer: a beer
that I can have several of and not become incapacitated. I’ve heard from many Home Brewers that they repeatedly make a house session
beer, to drink when they are brewing or for after doing yard work or some other task.

Session Beer Day this year was April 7th, 2012, and according to The Session Beer Project™ it was a great success, and Session
Beer Day 2013 has been set for April 7th 2013. The Session Beer Project™, (you can read more about it at:
sessionbeerproject.blogspot.com)
has defined a session beer as:

• 4.5% Alcohol per volume or less
• flavorful enough to be interesting
• balanced enough for multiple pints
• conducive to conversation
• reasonably priced

There continues to be a great debate on the issue of how much (actually how little) alcohol constitutes a session beer. There
are die hard fans that say not more than 4% and others say it is 5%. But I really think that it is more about taste. A session
beer for me is low alcohol and flavorful. Something that has much more character than a mass produced American Beer.

The next question is where to find these session beers if one wants to purchase some. The guys over at
ratebeer.com have compiled a list of American Beers at 4.5% or less
here, in the form of a
Google document.

The included recipe is an American Pale Ale, that should have the hop flavor of some IPA’s. But, it falls into the category of a session
beer with an estimated ABV of 4.14%.

Recipe for 6 gallons
OG = 1.044 FG = 1.012
IBU = 39.5 SRM = 5.4 ABV = 4.14%

Ingredients

8.0 lbs pilsner 2 row
0.5 lbs cara-pils
0.5 lbs caramel/crystal
0.5 lbs vienna
0.75 oz Nugget 13.00% (60 min)
0.35 oz Northern Brewer 8.50% (30 min)
0.35 oz Amarillo 8.50% (10 min)
0.35 oz Northern Brewer 8.50% (10 min)
0.50 oz Amarillo 8.50% (0 min)
0.50 oz Chinook 13.00% (0 min)
0.50 oz East Kent Goldings 5.00% (0 min)
0.50 oz Hallertauer 4.80% (0 min)
0.50 oz Northern Brewer 8.50% (0 min)
0.50 oz East Kent Goldings 5.00% (dry hop 7 days)
0.50 oz Northern Brewer 8.50% (dry hop 7 days)
0.50 oz Chinook 13.00% (dry hop 7 days)
0.50 oz Amarillo 8.50% (dry hop 7 days)
0.50 oz Hallertauer 4.80% (dry hop 7 days)
WLP001 White Labs California Yeast (or SAFALE 05)

Step by Step

Prepare 9.47 gallons of water for brewing. Mash in: Add 11.88 quarts of water at 174.9°F, Hold the
mash at 158°F for 45 min. Mash out: Add 4.75 quarts of water at 198.3°, hold the mash at 168.0° for 10 min. Sparge with 5.31 gallons
of water at 168°F, and drain the tun into the kettle. Total boil time is 90 minutes, add hops per schedule. Ferment in primary at 68°F
until done, then bring fermenter down to 50°F for two days, and then transfer into the secondary. Bring back up to =/- 68°, then add the
dry hops for 7 days. After the 7 days bottle or keg as you normally would.

Extract Version

Substitute 3.3 lbs of pale liquid extract, and 3 lbs of light dry extract for the pilsner and vienna. Steep the cara-pils, and
caramel/crystal in the brewing liquor for 30 min at 158°F, strain, then bring to a boil. Once at a boil remove from heat and add the
extract, then bring back to a boil. Once back to a boil proceed with recipe as stated.