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Down here in the South Pacific, we have just changed our clocks for daylight saving.

Longer, sunnier evenings are on the way, perhaps with a barbecue, and every change of season is a good excuse to explore new beers.

This winter has seen many high-hopped, high alcohol monsters set loose from New Zealand’s craft brewers, largely in New World Imperial IPA stylings. They have been excellent examples of the current range of hops available from New Zealand, but with ABVs up around 7% plus, they are made to be appreciated slowly rather than to slake a thirst.

Alcohol carries flavour, and these high-alc IIPAs have plenty of that, especially leading with the New World hops I love. But somewhere in the back of my mind I have a sneaky suspicion that dialling up the alcohol is the easy way to present flavour in your beer.

Look at restaurant cooking. It tastes better than your cooking at home, and that’s partly because chefs use more salt and butter than you do. Salt enhances flavour and fat carries it, and produces a good mouthfeel, but if you ate like that everyday you’d be fat, tired and broke. It takes extra skill to produce food that is flavourful and healthy.

It’s the same with beer. Higher alcohol content makes the flavours stand out, but producing a flavourful and balanced beer with less alcohol takes more skill.

Britain’s mild and bitter ales have been the definitive session beers for generations, and our New Zealand Draught brown lagers are their modern descendant. Emerson’s Bookbinder is probably the benchmark session ale from our craft brewers, but it isn’t a crowded market. Sunshine Breweries Gisborne Gold was developed at 4% 21 years ago – when most of its contemporary lagers were at 5% – specifically so that consumers could enjoy more of it. And that’s no bad thing – there are certainly occasions when the company and the craic are more important than the beer, and an overly assertive beer is out of place.

So what am I looking for in a session beer? It should have that flavour and balance, it should have no more than 4% alcohol so I can enjoy a few over a long evening, and it should be relatively cheap, so I can afford a few over a long evening.

I suspect this is one of those “pick any two options” situations and my wish list is contradictory. I know alcohol carries flavour, but I don’t know if it carries all flavours equally. Brewing experts, help me out here – is it possible for a beer to be both hoppy and relatively low in alcohol?

My ideal session beer would probably be a Bitter at 4% or so, and emphasising New Zealand hops. If you know of one like that, tell me about it.

And what about you – what do you look for in a session beer? And are there any you recommend for a long, sunny evening?

Cheers

PS #1 – Don’t forget to enter your session beers (and any others) in the SOBA 2010 National Homebrew Competition. Perhaps you’ve already invented my ideal session beer and just need to win some glory before taking your recipe to the world. Good luck to all entrants. Here’s the link.

PS #2 – Wow beer of the week – Golden Rye Ale from Kaimai Brewing Company. Tried it off the tap at the Malthouse yesterday, out of curiosity over the rye. At first I thought it wasn’t my glass of beer, as it is sweeter and less hoppy than my usual choices. But there’s something very pleasing in the balance in this one, the fruity hops balance the toffee malt and rye, and it has a good mouthfeel. I went back for more and will enjoy it again. Try if you find it.

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Filed under: Beer Makers, Gushing forth, Reviews | Tagged: beer, Bookbinder, Emersons, Gisborne Gold, golden ale, Golden Rye Ale, home brew, Kaimai, Malthouse, R, Renaissance, Rye, Session Beer, SOBA, Sunshine Brewery, Tatapouri Fishing Club, Yeastie Boys