Sessionable craft beer is a bit of a hot subject these days. Full flavored yet light in alcohol beers seem to be popping up more and more lately, I talked about Founder's new All Day IPA and Mt. Carmel's Springtime Ale earlier. Heck, Notch Brewing out of Ipswitch, Massachusetts has made it a point to brew Nothing but session beers. Not one of their beers clocks in at over 4.5% ABV. Today's Session beer is Bitter American, A pale ale from San Fransisco's 21st Amendment. It's a shame that I can only give you one picture of this can. 21st Amendment has some of the best design in beer and this one is no exception. The opposite side of this can features a chimp in a spacesuit. If that can't get me to buy a six pack, nothing can. To the beer!
Bitter American pours a clear light amber gold color with a towering rocky white head. Streams of effervescent bubbles rise from the bottom of the glass hinting at the carbonation.
The hops are at the forefront of the aromas on this beer. A nice mix of herbal and citric hops and hints of grapefruit and some pine. It's backed by some biscuity malt notes.
Unsurprisingly, this is a pretty light bodied beer. The body, however, is where the lightness ends. Biscuity doughy malt flavors lead the way in Bitter American. It's backed by a very bright clean hop finish. There are also some light toffee notes mixed with some piney accents. The bitterness in the finish scrubs the palate clean. A very refreshing beer.
If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time you'll have certainly deduced that I love big beers. Imperial IPAs, barrel aged stouts, and such. But I can't be drinking those every night and I wouldn't want to. Part of what makes craft beer so much fun is the variety. A variety of styles, of flavors. Session beers like Bitter American are a welcome change of pace. Big IPAs and stouts have their place. So do session beers like this. If you're in the mood for a crisp, clean, flavorful, yet light beer, you couldn't do much better than this one.
HD
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