Question: Why does the word “session” in any beer style descriptor instantly kill its demand? It’s like, there’s a palpable trend towards moderation and lower ABV options. But people also still want flavor and depth. IPAs are still anchoring the craft beer segment – both hazy and west coast, and N/As to boot! Yet if we think about this data and we meet this trend halfway ala “session”, everybody is all “umm, no thanks” Why does it have to be all or nothing, excess or abstinence, x or y, all the time? Welp, challenge accepted. And a challenge it was. We wanted to pack as much depth and flavor we could into a lower ABV West Coast IPA. We fermented it cooler and slower than what we normally make – you do love our hoppy pale lagers, after all. We tried to toe the line of bitterness, since less malt and alcohol can harshen your perception on this. We implemented hops with lower alpha acids and cohumulone on the hot side. And we used less abrasive hop products (YCH Hyperboost & Freestyle HopKief) along with Cryo hops for less vegetal/green matter contact on the cold side. Make no mistake, we love bitterness and hop texture and bright aromatics and a dry finish – this is a West Coast IPA goddamnit and NOT a pale ale – it’s all in there in moderation. So, we challenge you: give a “session” beer another try.