Georgia Session Beers - Red Brick Casual
(Courtesy: Red Brick Brewing Co.)

What is a session beer?

In general terms “session” refers to a beer that is 5.0% ABV (alcohol by volume) or lower.  For the Drink Local fans there are actually several Georgia session beers available.  The term is debated in the beer community, as many things are, because beer geeks are crazy.  Some say a brew should be 3.0-4.0% to qualify while others have slid over the 5.0% line and still get called a session beer, for example Full Sail Session Lager is a staggering 5.1%.  Meh, close enough.

The classic definition of a session beer is one that has a balance between malt and hops paired with the lower ABV.  These are beers that aren’t going to fatigue your palate or get you shnockered if you spend some time at the pub enjoying a few pints, English Milds and Standard Bitters are good examples.  Perhaps you prefer the delicate profile of American Light Lagers for your drinking sessions, I mean I’m not gonna judge you if you like to crush a 12-pack of Bud Light every Saturday (that’s a lie, I’m totally judging you).

In the past couple of years a new(er) style of session beer has become popular, the Session IPA.  Some say there’s no such thing as a Session IPA, that having a big hop profile is counter-intuitive to the definition of a session beer.  Be that as it may Session IPAs are very popular, and more breweries are offering them all the time.  There are currently several Session IPAs available from Georgia brewers, with a few more in the planning or release stage.

I’ve included a list below and I used the very general definition of beers at or below 5.0% as a qualifier.  With the popularity of big and boozy IPAs and Stouts I was surprised how many offerings there are here that come in at or below the 5.0% mark.  Purists may cringe at some of the beers mentioned, like Berliners or Goses, you’re free to ignore any that you disagree with and call me names behind my back, or to my face, I ain’t scared of you.

No matter your definition there are plenty of choices out there for those that want to hang out and have a few beers without worrying about the intense mango and pine that bombard the olfactories or the delicate caramel and chocolate that caress the palate.  Like my buddy Adam says, sometimes you just need a drinking beer.

Keg Stand
A group of friends enjoying some session beers, this method is not recommended.

DISCLAIMER: When sourcing data for this list we found some conflicting info on ABV statements.  We’ve used what seemed like the most reliable or consistent value for each beer.  Some of the beers may be seasonal, limited, or draft only; we tried to exclude any that were discontinued or one time offerings.  For brewpubs, whose beers frequently rotate, we’ve listed their most recent or popular offerings.  Most every brewpub in Georgia has sessionable beers, we suggest you drop in and see what they currently have on tap.  If there’s something we’ve missed or need to correct, please let us know.

Georgia Session Beers

Brewery Offerings

Pale Ale / IPA

  • Blue Tarp Tropic Thunder | Session IPA | 3.7%
  • Burnt Hickory Moon Station Bitter | “Easy Pounder” IPA | 4.2%
  • Creature Comforts Automatic | Pale Ale | 5.0%
  • Jekyll Fixin’ To | Session IPA | 4.9% (In planning, stats could change.)
  • Macon Beer Company Macon Progress | Pale Ale | 5.0%
  • Orpheus Peace.War.Truth.Lie. . | Session IPA | 5.0%
  • Red Brick Casual | Session IPA | 4.5% (Beer Guys Beer of the Week for 01/23/16)
  • Red Hare Evolving Hare | Session IPA | 4.2% (Launching 01/30/16)
  • Second Self Summer IPA | IPA | 5.0%
  • Service Brewing Ground Pounder | Pale Ale | 4.6% (Beer Guys Beer of the Week for 01/23/16)
  • Service Truman’s Tribute | IPA | 4.2%
  • Sweetwater Hash Session | 4.2% | Session IPA (In planning, stats could change.)
  • Terrapin Recreation Ale | Session IPA | 4.7%
  • Wild Heaven Let There Be Light | Pale Ale | 4.7%
  • Yes Face Session IPA | Session IPA | 4.5%

Golden Ale / Blonde Ale / Kölsch

  • Coastal Empire Tybee Island Blonde | Kölsch style ale | 4.7%
  • Eagle Creek Spot Tail Blonde Ale | Blonde Ale | 4.2%
  • Jekyll Big Creek Kölsch | Kölsch | 5.0%
  • Macon Beer Company Macon Love | Blonde Ale with Cherries | 5.0%
  • Monday Night Nerd Alert | Golden Ale | 5.0%
  • Omaha Brewing Co Insta-Gator | Kölsch | 4.9%
  • Southern Brewing Company Ironmaker | Kölsch | 5.0%

Berliner Weisse / Gose / Wild Ale / Sour

  • Blue Tarp Fünk Weisse | Berliner Weisse | 3.0%
  • Creature Comforts Athena | Berliner Weisse | 4.5%
  • Creature Comforts Cucumber and Lime Tritonia | Gose | 4.5%
  • Omaha Brewing Co Doc Dweller | Berliner Weisse | 4.4%
  • Orpheus Chickataur | American Wild Ale | 5.0%
  • Orpheus Clio | Sour Saison | 3.7%
  • Second Self Gose | Gose | 4.4%
  • Three Taverns Sour Asylum #1 | Sour Ale | 3.8%

Pilsner

  • Three Taverns Prince of Pilsen | Euro-style Pilsner | 5.0%
  • Wild Heaven Emergency Drinking Beer | Pilsner | 4.0%
  • Service Brewing Rally Point | Bohemian Pilsner | 4.6%
  • Red Hare Long Day Lager | Czech Pilsner | 4.98%

Other

  • Blue Tarp BantamWeight | Amber/Red Ale | 4.2%
  • Jailhouse Slammer Wheat | Pale American Wheat Ale | 5.0%
  • Jailhouse Alibi | Cream Ale | 4.5%
  • Red Brick Hibiscuwit | Belgian Wheat | 5.0%
  • Reformation Union | Witbier | 4.8%
  • Southern Brewing Company Wild Azalea Tart | Belgian Pale Ale | 5.0%
  • Southern Sky Brewing Co Worlds Apart | Hybrid Ale | 5.0%
  • Sweetwater Blue | Fruit Beer | 4.6%
  • Terrapin Full of Balarney | Dry Irish Stout | 4.2%
  • Three Taverns Single Intent | Belgian Single | 5.0%

Brewpub Offerings

  • 5 Seasons Take It Easy | Berliner Weisse | 4.0%
  • Blue Ridge Brewery Kölsch | Kölsch | 4.0%
  • Cannon Brewpub City Mills Wheat | Pale Wheat Ale | 4.5%
  • Cherry Street Irish Red I Jedeye | Irish Red Ale | 4.8%
  • Hop Alley Citraweisse | Berliner Weisse | 3.7%
  • Max Lager’s Max Red | Vienna Lager | 5.0%
  • Moon River Wild Wacky Wit | Witbier | 4.8%
  • Slice & Pint The Druid | Belgian Blonde | 5.0%
  • Stone Mountain Brewing Co Hefeweissen | Hefeweizen | 5.0%
  • Twain’s One & One Session IPA | Session IPA | 4.2%
  • Wrecking Bar Breaking Bob Kölsch | Kölsch | 4.8%

Georgia session beers

Tim DennisBeer 101Beer ReleasesBeer Sciencecrossfit,fitness,Georgia session beers,Red Brick,Service Brewing,session IPAWhat is a session beer? In general terms 'session' refers to a beer that is 5.0% ABV (alcohol by volume) or lower.  For the Drink Local fans there are actually several Georgia session beers available.  The term is debated in the beer community, as many things are, because beer geeks...Cold beer, hot conversations, stupid jokes.