SESSIONS

So yesterday I decided enough daytime sobriety....let's do some day drinking!  Headed over to one of my favorite watering holes, Logan's Alley here in Grand Rapids for a quick one.  Logan's always has great craft beer picks on tap, and they have a HUGE bottle collection.  For some reason, I don't think I've ever, ever, in all my years drinking here, gotten a bottle of beer at Logan's.  Only drafts.  I wonder why that is?

Well, most likely, it's because they always have such good ones on tap, I never look beyond the chalkboard.  No need.  And since I really like stouts and porters (especially in the winter) I always look for those on tap first, because in my mind they just taste better on line.

Yesterday was actually sunny here in GR, and I was feeling the need for some hops.  It could be I wanted to match my bitter mood yesterday, for despite the sun, I wasn't feeling too happy.  I know, I know, I'm always pretty on, right?  Not yesterday.  So what's that taste?  Oh, yeah, bitter.

After checking the chalk board, I was struggling.  I didn't want to get wrecked...it was 1:00 in the afternoon after all.  I just wanted to enjoy a couple pints...so low alcohol would be pertinent.  I'm kind of skinny, so it doesn't take much.  This is why I drank Guinness all the time before the craft beer boom...nice low booze rating with big flavor.  So the lowest ABV on the board was Short's Reverend La Ale at 4%...surprisingly low, especially from Mr. Extreme Beer, Joe Shorts.

After I took I slug, I was even more surprised.  Although low in the ABV's, this one kicked me right in the face with the hops.  Bold, citrusy, bitter, cold and crisp, this beer is a good one.

This brings me to the point of this post. Earlier this year, I gave my 5 craft beer predictions on the Brew Trails facebook page, just for fun.  I thought I might go more in depth with how these are panning out throughout the year.  One of my predictions was that brewers would start to move away from the super extreme beers we have loved in the past, and move more towards session beers.  This was  a great example of a good session beer, low alcohol, but no compromise on flavor.  I've had a few others I've loved in the past, one that comes to mind is the Solid Gold on tap at Founders during the summer months.  I drank that one all day at Founder's Fest just so I could maintain some semblance of decency on camera, and worked perfectly in that capacity.

So here's to spring and summer drinking, and to lots more sessions of drinking good craft beer.  If you have a favorite session beer, share it in the comments!