Just because you enjoy IPAs, this doesn’t mean you always want to crack open a beer with 7.5-10% ABV every time. Sure, there’s a time and place for those epic West Coast bangers and double dry-hopped hazies. There’s also a place for IPAs with slightly lower alcohol by volume, but just as much flavor as many of its higher ABV counterparts.
We’re talking about session IPAs.
For the uninitiated, the beer term “session” is used to reference a beer at our below 5% ABV. These beers are also usually lighter in body, not as filling, and oftentimes very crushable. It makes for a great summer beer style. Wouldn’t you rather grab a low-ABV hoppy thirst quencher on a hot summer day than something higher in ABV and generally heavier anyway? We know we would.
To help you out, we’ve listed and ranked eight of the best, reasonably easy-to-find session IPAs available today. They’re all under 5% ABV, but each is still high in flavor and has the hoppy flavor and aroma IPA fans crave. Keep scrolling to see them all.
8) Founders All Day West Coast
ABV: 4.7%
Average Price: $10 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
There are few session IPAs more well-known than Founders All Day IPA. This beer is so popular that it’s opened the door for a slew of different “All Day” beers. In fact, we enjoy its All Day West Coast with its malt backbone and aromatic, flavorful hops.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is classic West Coast IPA, albeit a little muted. Grapefruit and pine are prevalent and not much else. The palate has a little more substance with a sweet malty backbone propped up by more citrus peels and pine. The finish is hoppy, piney, and lightly bitter. Overall, a decent, mildly watery beer.
Bottom Line:
As expected, this session West Coast IPA has all of the flavors IPA fans crave. It’s just a little more muted than some drinkers might be expecting.
7) Dogfish Head Slightly Mighty
ABV: 4%
Average Price: $11 for a six-pack
The Beer:
With a name like “Slightly Mighty,” you wouldn’t be wrong expecting a big flavor out of this session IPA. But not only is this a session IPA, but it’s also a light beer. It still manages to be hoppy and flavorful with a little extra sweetness from the addition of monk fruit.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is surprisingly fragrant and tropical for a session IPA. There’s a ton of lemongrass, orange peel, and ripe pineapple. Drinking it continues this trend with more tropical fruits, citrus peels, grass, and floral, lightly piney hops. The finish is lightly bitter. Overall, it’s a flavorful beer for the low ABV but more of a crusher than something to take your time with.
Bottom Line:
This is a decently flavorful light beer. It’s highly sessionable, but more of a summer crusher after an afternoon of lawn mowing than anything of substance.
6) Cigar City Jai Low
ABV: 4%
Average Price: $12 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Cigar City Jai Alai is one of the most respected IPAs on the market, but at 7.5% ABV, it’s anything but sessionable. That’s where Cigar City Jai Low comes in. It’s only 4% ABV but is still known for its bready malts, citrus flavors, and bitter hops.
Tasting Notes:
Before your first sip, you’re met with aromas of grassy, herbal, floral hops, sweet, bready malts, and bright pine. Drinking it reveals notes of wet grass, citrus peels, grapefruit zest, herbal, earthy, hops, and bitter pine. For a low-ABV IPA, it’s surprisingly balanced.
Bottom Line:
Sure, it’s low on alcohol. But this session IPA still carries much of the flavor you have grown to love when you crack open a classic Cigar City Jai Alai. It’s just all slightly tempered.
5) Smuttynose Easy Kind
ABV: 4.7%
Average Price: $12 for a six-pack
The Beer:
This 4.7% ABV session IPA was crafted to be crushed. Brewed with Chico yeast, Silo malt, Best ale malt, White wheat, and Cara malt as well as Citra, Amarillo, and Hull Melon hops, it does just that. It’s balanced, flavorful, and highly drinkable on a hot day.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is surprisingly light with sweet, bready malts, bright pine, and honeydew melon. There’s a ton of citrus on the palate with tangerine, lemon, and grapefruit making big appearances. There’s also a good deal of sweet malt in the background and lightly bitter, floral, resinous hops at the finish.
Bottom Line:
This beer might be touted as a crusher and it definitely is. It’s also surprisingly well-balanced. It’s the kind of beer you’ll want to keep stocked in your fridge all summer long.
4) Odell Good Behavior
ABV: 4%
Average Price: $12 for a six-pack
The Beer:
This beer might only be 4% ABV, but don’t let that fool you. It’s juicy, hazy, and loaded with tropical fruit, citrus peel, and fresh hop aroma and flavor. This comes from the liberal use of HBC 586, Citra, and Amarillo hops. On top of that, it’s only 110 calories per 12-ounce can.
Tasting Notes:
Grass, bready malts, lemon zest, orange peel, and dank pine on the nose starts everything off on the right foot. The palate continues this trend with more bready, sweet malts in the background that move into caramelized pineapple, tangerine, grapefruit, and floral, earthy, herbal pine. The finish is a nice mix of sweetness and bitterness.
Bottom Line:
As sessionable hazy IPAs go, this one is well-balanced and filled with tropical fruit and citrus flavors. All with a pleasant finish.
3) Highland Daycation
ABV: 4.9%
Average Price: $11 for a six-pack
The Beer:
We all know about staycations, but what about a daycation? The folks at Highland Brewing are inviting you to take one when you crack open a can of This flavorful, 4.9% ABV session IPA. Loaded with hop aromas and flavors, it’s brewed with 2-row malt, white wheat, rye, Vienna malt, caramel 20 malt, and flaked oats. It’s hopped with Azacca, Mosaic, and El Dorado hops.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find aromas of candied orange peels, clover honey, ripe grapefruit, mango, sweet malts, and grassy, floral hops. Drinking it brings forth notes of bready malts, lemongrass, honey, tangerine, grapefruit, more tropical fruits, and a nice kick of gently bitter, earthy, pine at the finish.
Bottom Line:
All in all, this is a pretty well-rounded IPA even for a session IPA. It ticks all the IPA boxes without leaning too heavily in any direction.
2) Fathead’s Sunshine Daydream
ABV: 4.9%
Average Price: $13 for a six-pack
The Beer:
This award-winning session IPA is known for its tropical and citrus fruits as well as bright pine and nice, sweet malt backbone. This is thanks to the use of California ale yeast, pale malts, Munich malts, Victory malts, C-15 malts, and Carapils malts. It’s brimming with hops including Citra, Mosaic, Chinook, and Sultana.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is herbal, earthy, and lightly spicy with a ton of piney, herbal hop aromas as well as citrus peels, and sweet, caramel malts. The palate has a ton of citrus with grapefruit, lemon peel, and orange zest making up most of the flavor profile. This is followed by sweet, bready malts and a ton of herbal, earthy, resinous pine. The finish is a nice mix of bitter pine and citrus peels.
Bottom Line:
This session IPA manages not only to be overall balanced but is also well balanced between citrus sweetness and hop bitterness.
1) Societe The Coachman
ABV: 4.9%
Average Price: $12 for a six-pack
The Beer:
San Diego is the center of the IPA universe so it should come as no surprise that the best session IPA comes from there. This highly-rated, Great American Beerfest Gold Medal-winning IPA is known for its drinkability, but bold citrus and tropical fruit-forward flavor profile.
Tasting Notes:
Complex aromas of juicy melon, ripe berries, caramelized pineapple, mango, and tangerine make way for bright pine. The palate continues this trend with more tangerine, lemongrass, ripe pineapple, caramel malts, and floral, dank hops. Even with all of this, it manages to be gently bitter and effortlessly easy to drink.
Bottom Line:
If you only drink one session IPA this summer, make it this one. It’s as close to perfection as a low-ABV IPA can get.
