The IPA is built on extremes. In the early days of its rise to dominance, it wasn’t just an IBU arms race sending the style soaring to new levels of bitterness; there was also the ever-climbing alcohol content to back it up. The 2010s brought the arrival of the New England IPA, and while brewers sprinted back down the bitterness scale, they notched up the residual sugar and, yet again, the ABV.
Nothing about these IPAs was what one could call “sessionable,” a word used to describe easy-drinking, lower-proof drinks you could sip a few of in one “session.” The hitch was that the big, bold flavors of IPA seemed to require more ABV. “They have so much bitterness and hop character that they need the residual sweetness from the alcohol,” says Samantha Lee, co-owner of Chicago’s Hopewell Brewing Co.
Fast forward to the mid-2010s, and drinkers inevitably began to fatigue with the 7 to 10 percent ABV IPA. Wasn’t there a way to scratch that hoppy itch and have more than one beer without the guarantee of a hangover?
By the time the hazy IPA exploded, some brewers were already at work tinkering with the scales in order to satiate consumers’ thirst for hoppiness at lower ABVs. In 2010, Founders Brewing Co. (which, it should be noted, has since had multiple racial discrimination lawsuits filed against it) essentially launched the session IPA category with its popular All Day IPA, at 4.7 percent ABV.
The category quickly flourished. More brewers dialed into how to achieve balance, and consumers snatched up the beers. In 2015, Aaron Goldfarb, writing in this publication, referred to session IPAs as “the hottest style of the moment.” The category soon encompassed tropical, New England–inspired editions; full-on hazies; and sessions labeled with their lower calorie counts to cater to health-conscious consumers. Some brewers targeted the full IPA experience simply with less booze, while others sought to lighten the whole affair.
“The world is filled with incredible light, crisp lagers that can fill that part of our fridge, but we want something full and uncompromising, just at a lower ABV,” says Dan Bronson, general manager at New York’s SingleCut Beersmiths. The brewery rolled out its session IPA, 18 Watt, 12 years ago; it ultimately became SingleCut’s flagship beer. Bronson attributes 18 Watt’s long-running success to the fact that plenty of people “don’t necessarily want no alcohol, but also don’t want a 9 percent ABV sledgehammer in the middle of the day.”
Aside from anomalies like 18 Watt, though, if you comb the shelves of your local bottle shop in 2024, you may find yourself wondering where all the session IPAs have gone. “The session IPA category looks to be underperforming,” says Joe Sepka, co-founder of consulting firm 3 Tier Beverages, looking at IPA off-premise sales filtered by “under 5 percent ABV” and labeled as “session.” Sales are down 12 percent compared with a year ago, versus the entire IPA category, which is up 4 percent. “What’s driving growth across IPAs are the two extreme ends of the spectrum: higher ABVS on one end and nonalcoholic IPAs on the other.”
Indeed, it seems that the rise of nonalcoholic beer has cannibalized the session IPA. Now, consumers who want to fulfill their IPA cravings without so much booze can avoid alcohol altogether, and those who don’t mind a buzz just reach for the IPAs that promise maximum flavor at a higher ABV. Brewers making 5 percent ABV session IPAs aren’t trying to just deliver something “in the middle,” but that’s the no-person’s land where they find themselves.
The moniker, it seems, has also lost its appeal. “‘Session’ in front of any type of American IPA might as well be labeled with ‘budget’ or ‘diet,’” says Tom Hayden, vice president of quality assurance at Great Notion Brewing. “It implies that the thing is a lesser version of itself.” Great Notion is known for IPAs with bold hop character, and while the 6 percent ABV Juice Jr. remains popular, the brewery has always found anything associated with “session” a tough sell. Likewise, Hopewell stopped making its session IPA equivalent, Outside Voice; Lee says they knew “session” wouldn’t hook consumers. They tried transitioning to “mini IPA,” but ultimately struggled to communicate what the beer was to consumers.
Many brewers are now either eschewing any modifier at all, or choosing terms they feel communicate the beer’s style more clearly to consumers—like “beach party” or “crushable.” Of the examples we were able to secure, here are three must-tries that represent a brighter future for the besmirched session IPA.
