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So we're coming into the Xmas season for paartays and the like and i'm looking for a good session beer.
I can't be dealing with hangovers, and beer is the tipple of choice, so has anyone got any good recommendations for low ABV ales? Preferably ones that are actually nice! I was thinking of Adnam's Sole Star, which is a virtuous 2.7%, but i can't find a stockist...
Any other recommendations, especially if you know where I can get 'em!
Stella
3.5% but oh my 8)
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saltaire blonde
ilkley mary jane
magic rock curious
kirkstall pale
or any pale or blonde under 3.8
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Get it direct from the brewery in various sized containers. http://www.rebellionbeer.co.uk/beers/beer-calendar/rebellion-ipa.aspx
Best session beer going. Thread closed.
How much have you got to spend?
How to disappear (or even dead pony club also by Brewdog) is lovely and light enough to drink a few, but it falls down, for me, on the session beer stakes for being a bit pricey for a case of them.
Darkstar Hophead is a good one at 3.8%, and Buxton Brewery Jacobs Ladder is also a good shout at 2.8% (10p per bottle going to the local MRT as well.)
There are a whole load at that percentage if you poke around.
Alton's Pride @ 3.8%
Speaking to the owner of the brewery, its his recipe, they put a lot of work into getting this beer tasting like 4.5% brew while keeping the gravity down at 3.8%. They make many stronger brews that 'pretty much make themselves' but the Alton's Pride is my favourite ale ever. I have never tasted anything below 4% that comes close.
Session beer is very subjective. 3.7% is strong to some.
The other thing to watch is that IME that "proper" beer from the little breweries always seems stronger than stuff from the big breweries. They say 3.7% and stuff but always get me pissed pissed quicker than stuff that is meant to be stronger from the main stream companies.
Lately I have enjoyed ....
Loweswater Gold.
Hogs Back Bitter
& a Windsor & Eton Brewery pale ale thing.
My idea of a session is now a sorry tale of two pints and I'm anyone's!
😀
Kernel Brewery does a very tasty 3.2% pale ale called "Table Beer"
mtfu! it's Christmas.
Stella!
Just drink a pint of water with every pint of ale and then perhaps 2/3 more before bed.
Tesco are doing 24 cans of Stella for £16! The prices might go down again yet. Last year they did 24 cans for 12 quid but only for a week so you need to keep an eye out. Should have purchased enough then for the year!
Yuck, water!?
Please don't sully this thread with the mention of Lager, especially wifebeater thank you! 😉
Some great suggestions; i'm pretty interested by some of the 3% is ones- and Rebellion IPA was already on the list- might nip down on Saturday for a polypin...
That Buxton brewery one looks ideal, might be a toughie to get for the weekend. (My first seasonal social)
Probably cause a few heads to explode at this suggestion, but I agree, stella4 or good old fashioned tennents! 
2.7% ? <s****>
Hook Norton Hooky 3.5%
[url= http://www.hooky.co.uk/product/bottled-beers/hooky-abv-35.ashx ]LINKY[/url]
Stella
with a nip every 2nd pint.
Most important question here - Location?
Beer is always better when local, IMHO.
The Kernel Table Beer 3.3%
Guinness. Higher ABV but surprisingly low hangover to pint ratio
So we're coming into the Xmas season
Spotted this in Munich last week 😆
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The Kernel Table Beer 3.3%
Kernel does some lovely stuff, but here's a thought, space is at premium in the fridge at christmas, you want something you can lie flat. craft beer isn't a great choice, as you need to let the sediment settle....
space is at premium in the fridge at christmas
Easy solution - Beer Fridge! 🙂
Or, keep it in the cellar. (Sadly don't have one in the new place. 🙁 )
Okells MPA 3.6%
Ilkley Gold 3.9%
or, metal dustbin in the garden
I had an interesting chat with a microbrewer t'other day. He said the big brewers can brew to such accuracy that it will always be the minimum amount such that when rounded up (as allowed by law) it will be e.g. 3.7%. This makes it cheaper for them to produce obviously. A smaller brewer will not be as accurate so it could be slightly under or slightly over, but it will be closer to 3.7%.The other thing to watch is that IME that "proper" beer from the little breweries always seems stronger than stuff from the big breweries. They say 3.7% and stuff but always get me pissed pissed quicker than stuff that is meant to be stronger from the main stream companies.
Beer recommendations: I had a Manns Brown Ale from a selection of Winter Ales from Morrisons. It was surprisingly nice for 2.8%!
@CFH is correct, we need to know where you are as beer is best local.
If you are based near Guildford/Farnham - then Hogs Back Brewery have an excellent range. Go and have a taste.
I'd say pale ale tends to be good - Leeds, Saltaire, Ilkley and Wharfebank all do good ones.
Ton - you must be from my neck of the north
for the abv's being mentioned here you might as well be drinking water. I stick with my suggestion of Stella with the occaisional pint of water. Or just drink a load of water before bed. You can get special Christmas stella with a red jacket, how festive is that?!
Brew your own:-) perhaps a bit late for Christmas season now though.
2.7%...no come on that's silly.
Drink the beer that you want and alternate with a soft drink.
2.7% - I reckon it would be difficult to get pissed on that at all!
It sounds like all of negatives; bloated, peeing, calories, sugar, with none of the benefits?
A bit like drinking this when I was a kid, says 3.4 but it never was!
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JHB from Oakham Ales is very nice at 3.6% [url= http://www.realale.com/product_info.php?products_id=787 ]JHB[/url]
http://www.marstonspedigree.co.uk/otherales/pale-ale.aspx
i drank some by accident, it was very quaffable but i felt somewhat robbed when i noticed the %
FWIW I tend to go the other way for parties these days. Rather than take a stack of session beers which require to be kept cold and refreshed regularly I take one or two bottles of beer that change/improve as they get warmer; then I'm happy to sip and taste all night (and drink water to stay hydrated etc).
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Some people are missing the point here.
A) not everybody likes Stella.
B) OP wants to be able to have a few [i] without [/I] getting completely legless.
C) getting completely legless is not big and it's not clever. Just because it's Christmas does not make it alright
Stella
Adnam's Sole Star, which is a virtuous 2.7%, but i can't find a stockist...
Booths.
If you're blessed enough to live in the right part of The North.
Marston's Pale Ale 2.8%, 89p for 500ml, Home Bargains. Perfectly drinkable.
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Oh and +1 on the recommendations for local and Hook Norton.
I grew up just near Hooky, so that was the beer of choice. It's just as good today. As my FIL puts it: "easy drinking".
My favourite beer, which fulfils the local*, session and great flavour requirements is [url= http://www.prospectbrewery.com/beers.html ]Prospect Silver Tally. [/url]
*local to where I live, and often found in my local, with the eponymous pub a short taxi ride/lift away.
A) not everybody likes Stella.
Weirdo!
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Ilkley dinner ale is a very pleasant and refreshing beer. 3.3%
B) OP wants to be able to have a few without getting completely legless.
Why?
C) getting completely legless is not big and it's not clever. Just because it's Christmas does not make it alright
Yes it does.
[url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/drink-driving-and-the-morning-after ]no it doesn't[/url]
no it doesn't
What has the drink driving thread got to do with this? FFS!
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i'm back.
I completely agree, local is a good thing: i'm in South Oxfordshire/Chilterns, so the local list is thus:
[url= http://www.wbbrew.com/beer/mr-chubbs-lunchtime-bitter/ ]Mr Chubbs[/url]
[url= http://www.rebellionbeer.co.uk/beers/beer-calendar/rebellion-ipa.aspx ]IPA[/url]
[url= http://www.loddonbrewery.com/hoppit/ ]hoppit[/url]
And yes, I'm not looking to get too wasted. I have kids, a limited amount of free time, when i want to be functional, capable of interacting with others or going for a ride/ doing stuff the day after.
Downing chemically lagers, climbing lampposts with my pants on my head and coming on to my mates' other halves, plus enduring morning after hangovers are a waste of that. Also, I have an amazing capability to guzzle beer at an unseemly rate, which is why i don't want strong stuff. I want to quaff a-plenty and get pleasantly merry on nice ales.
What has the drink driving thread got to do with this? FFS!
grow up
think about it. if you're that intent on getting rat-arsed and see it as a good thing, then I don't want to be sharing the roads with you the day after.
grow upthink about it. if you're that intent on getting rat-arsed and see it as a good thing, then I don't want to be sharing the roads with you the day after.
Why would I be driving the next day? 🙄
And yes, I'm not looking to get too wasted. I have kids, a limited amount of free time, when i want to be functional, capable of interacting with others or going for a ride/ doing stuff the day after.Downing chemically lagers, climbing lampposts with my pants on my head and coming on to my mates' other halves, plus enduring morning after hangovers are a waste of that. Also, I have an amazing capability to guzzle beer at an unseemly rate, which is why i don't want strong stuff. I want to quaff a-plenty and get pleasantly merry on nice ales.
Stella?
Recommendations for Beer:
Hobsons Best (3.8%)
Hobsons twisted spire (circa 3.6%) but very tasty!
Hobsons Mild (3.2% i think) really nice during winter
Titanic Steerage (3.2% as well i think)
All great session beers
Recommendations for maximising fridge space:
Beer does not want to be fridge temperature, we live in Britain, outside temperature is usually cool in December. Leave the beers in a box outside the back door... cellar would be ideal though.
be alright going for a ride though, eh John? you won't lose your licence for being drunk in charge or a bicycle. Stella!.... makes the trails come alive..... the next morning! I get the ops point though, you probably wouldn't feel like a ride after a heavy sesh.
If I'm doing a heavy sesh then I get special dispensation from wifey for her to look after kids in the morn while I have a sleep in/take it easy. And then repay it for her christmas do.
<gives up>
johnny on his Boxing Day ride.
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Sensible points about drink driving, of course, but my real interest is that A) I don't want to get shitfaced in 2 hours, and B)I have a burgeoning social calendar (I know!) with several events at mine and others to come.
Out of the time off i have for Christmas, i don't want to be feeling crappy, and there's always the potential to spend a week over xmas in varying states of wastedness. This time of year, natural light is a premium, so hiding my head under a pillow with a methanol migrane seems a bit of a bad option.
Marston's Burton Bitter
Woodford Wherry
Adnams Lighthouse
To name but three - all under 4%, all delicious!
i am going out on the sweary northerners xmas rid/piss up on sunday.
we will be drinking...lots, we will be riding our bikes with lots of ale in our systems.
it will be fun...... 8)
Just seen 'chocolate sombrero'.
I assume that is a double-entendre.
If not, it needs to be.......
Winston- 😀 Have you been stalking me over past Christmasses?
Actually, I have a scar on my nose where i rode into a concrete drainage culvert after a whisky session....
To add to the comedy, the bike in question was an old commuter, with similar amounts of rust to that one. I had a basket at the time though. 8)
All beers around 5-6% should be session beers. And if they aren't then you need to sort your sessions out 😛
Winston- Have you been stalking me over past Christmasses?
It's not me it's [url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/are-conspiracy-theorists-nuts ]them![/url]
Downing chemically lagers, climbing lampposts with my pants on my head and coming on to my mates' other halves,
The importance of the word "to".
i'm in South Oxfordshire/Chilterns, so the local list is thus:
shandy?
CFH- on to or onto?
The former is still possibly a risk, the latter i hope i'm past, along with the days of "ET's Heart".
😯
Johnny, was more thinking of how it would read if the word was absent....
Brew your own:-) perhaps a bit late for Christmas season now though.
I brewed a light ale yesterday intended for Xmas - I can generally turn round brews in 3 weeks, from brew to drinking if they are light enough - 7 days ferment, 14 days maturing - bottles rather than kegs helps that. It's my second Xmas batch, so I've already got 40 bottles of a dark beer as well.
Thought that might be the crucial point... A mate once had a t-shirt with the slogan 'I came on Eileen'. Ruined the song for me, that one...
For the sou'westers, Otter Beautiful Daze (Bitter) 3.6%.
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It is written, so i'm told, that any beer drunk in festive cheer must not have an ABV below 6%. it's the law.
This then allows you to engage in combat with your brother in law, thus removing one of the internal doors from it's hinges.
messiah-- where did you get the clown shoes choclate sombrereo? 9% abv--proper session ale that ! see they do a Tramp Stamp pale ale (belgian style)amongst many other s--do they have a distributer in the uk ?
I reckon you will drown before getting drunk on 2.8% beer 😆
South Oxfordshire - Brakspear Bitter 3.4%
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Castle rock harvest pale is good
Saltaire Blonde or Copper Dragon Golden Pippin 😆
2 and 3% beers? I reckon the op just wants to pee alot rather than have a session! 😀 Probably better aff stick to the coca cola! 😀
Round our way, York Brewery Guzzler.
In Oxfordshire, down near the south coast, not a clue.
Smirnoff and Pepsi max (loads of ice)
No hang overs and no beer belly?????
Jesus tell me about this. NZ is the land of 7% hop bombing IPAs, trying to find a decent beer that you can sup away on for a long period without ending up offering to show everyone your elephant is quite hard. We brewed up a reasonably mellow but flavoursome IPA that was 3.7%, it had just enough body in it to carry the hops. 280 litres gone in 5 days (sold) so i think that will be done again although i have sold my brewery. I tend to stick to emersons bookbinder as its 3odd% and you can drink a lot of it.
Smirnoff and Pepsi max (loads of ice)
No hang overs and no beer belly?????
this is what I do most of the time now tbh. Beer makes me feel too bloated and full. Get drunk quicker on the vodka as well 🙂