Best session IPA I ever had, for me when I out on the beach or hiking or what ever, want a beer, a IPA that will not get me too buzzed, but want a full flavor IPA, this is my "Go To" BBQ with family and friends, working around the house, great afternoon beer, and for me I love the taste and always want to drink more than a few, ESP when enjoying the day with family and friends, A 10 beer for me, it is "Enjoy By" Light, Outstanding!!!

I like this new review format.......review and rating + after thoughts. Good stuff!

I love when you give your thoughts and stuff you should do it more often

Totally agree with you. This would totally wreck my palate after a few.

I only had one bottle of this and it felt rather more-ish. I wish I had a few more. As for Session IPA's I just feel as though they're basically pale ales but without the balance. It's as if they have the same amount of hops as IPAs but without the higher malt an IPA would require for the ABV boost. I also feel as though they're smaller in body than pale ales too.

Full Sail Brewing in Hood River, Oregon (USA) has a series, separate from their flagship brand. It's called "Session IPA, Session Black Lager, Session Lager", and a few more. It does good around the colleges, sold in 12 bottle cases. So there might be legal issues with label names. They've been brewing Full Sail since 1987. Check out their website, great pic of Mt. Hood on there!

I have no problem with sessioning 7 or 8% abv ipas, 2 3 or 4 will do, rather than drinking a whole 6pack of 4%, but that's just me, cheers Simon.

Very similar to BrewDogs Dead Pony Pale Ale, so can agree that by taste alone it does seem like more of a pale ale. Nice enough beer to drink, Session-able purely on % ABV. Session IPA's in my experience have generally been similar to hoppy pale ales. They share the same alcohol range and taste so it I understand why there is likely to be crossover between the 2 styles. We don't need to categorize beers to enjoy them though!

Simon! love the channel, love the reviews. I think a few people before me have already said it so pardon me if stoning a dead crow but if I were to put it in a nutshell; these kinds of session IPAs are for hop freaks/enthusiasts to get their hop fix without getting too buzzed. I love hops and have honestly wondered if there was a nonalcoholic way to enjoy them. Inevitably, these session IPAs are going to be a little wonky and unbalanced without the malts providing back bone and fuel for the alcohol. A sacrifice many drinkers are willing to take for the sake of the hops, it seems. Had this one a handful of times and am always excited by the hop bouquet initially but get a lil tired of it by the end of one and have certainly never had more than one at time. I digress... good stuff, cheers everyone!

Great review. I haven't tried this one yet, but expect I will before long. Stone really made its name with IPAs, so I imagine, like you say, this is all about marketing. A couple of the session IPAs I've had, namely the All Day IPA from Founders is more like a pale ale than an IPA, I agree. Stone has (or had) another lower alcohol beer, Levitation, which is also around 4.5%, and is also pretty good. They list that one as an amber, though. I don't hear much about that one, but I really liked it.

To understand what Stone is accomplishing with this IPA you have to understand the current move away from so much bitterness in IPAs in the US. The newest IPAs by breweries like Treehouse, Trillium, and Fiddlehead in New England just to name a few have begun to concentrate more on hop flavor rather than hop bitterness. Many of the west coast breweries like Societe, for example, have begun to embrace the change. These IPAs also have an overall lower ABV. This GoTo IPA and the newest "Delicious" IPAs are Stone's interpretation of concentrating on flavors with the massive bittering. These IPAs are have the typical "west coast" characteristic of using very light malt and leaving them with virtually no residual sugar. That's why many refer to these beers as "unbalanced"...that is by design. The massive amounts of hops don't go in during the boil where they impart bittering but rather after "flame out" so they impart more flavor than bitterness. There are different "styles" of IPA in the US and once you understand the variations you can appreciate them much more.

I think what Stone did was focus primarely on the hoppyness character and not just the ABV percentage to categorize the beer as an IPA over just a pale ale, SESSION meaning it has a lower ABV (and can be drank in higher quantity before whoever is drinking it reaches his/her limit/desired level). Thats how I tend to categorize beers too and it makes more sense to me, since the hops are the protagonists in this style of beer. Also, all other session beers i've seen have ABV very low (the stone go to IPA being the highest so it makes sense SESSION meaning lower ABV.

I totally agree with your stance regarding the "session IPA" classification. If I had to guess, since IPAs are en vogue now in the US (and have been for quite a while), it's more of a marketing buzzword than a proper classification (just slap an IPA sticker on the bottle and watch it fly off the shelves!). I haven't tried Go To yet, but I've been largely disappointed by the session IPAs that I've tried (other than Carton Boat Beer). If I want to "session" something, I'll usually turn to German lagers (Märzens, helles/dunkel lagers, pilsners, Schwarzbiers, etc.); with most bold, American ales, I'm one-and-done (with a few exceptions). Cool review. Cheers!

Why people don't call dark hoppy beers IBA (india black ale) but they rather say BLACK india PALE ale? IMHO the meaning of "IPA" is now more than only strict beer style. IPA also sounds nicer than PA - it has bigger marketing impact. You'd rather say session ipa, than pale ale or american pale ale :)

I agree is an unbalanced beer. Don't take me wrong I love hop in the teeth brews but I appreciate balance even more. Some malt will help going up a notch. I usually have it in my rotation.

Slap IPA on a beer and it will sell better.

On BeerAdvocate.com, I see a lot of posts for 6 to 7+ ABVs with people calling that much alcohol sessionable.

Do you still have this view 2 years on after so many "session" IPA's about now?

I don't think calling it a session pale ale would be particularly helpful...pale ales should be sessionable pretty much by definition. would seem to make more sense to call it a hoppy pale ale. I agree that sessionable IPA is a contradiction in terms (as is Black IPA of course).

it's 65 ibu's. that's what makes it an ipa

It’s a German craft beer not American is brewed in Berlin

I'm not the biggest fan of session IPA's. To be honest, if I'm going to session a beer I would rather session lagers. Just my opinion.

Not bad just way too bitter for me.

I was not particularly pleased with this beer or even the entire style.

pshhh in a review you're not supposed to shug the shit out of it now should you

You talk about Beer World and yet you adopt US rules ...why ? Why can't an IPA be sessionable ....in the UK we have many Cask ales that are sessionable and more UK Brewers are producing session keg IPAs . Why do we have to adopt US , when we have been making beer for much longer ! UK reviewer should adopt Uk Rules ....the U.S. don't own the category

I like this new review format.......review and rating + after thoughts. Good stuff!