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8 best session IPAs for summer picnics
These park-friendly beauts all come in at under 4.5% abv
Rightly or wrongly, there’s no denying that us Brits love a good session. Whether it’s in your local boozer or in the park, all-day drinking is a thing.
And while we still love socialising, these days we’re more aware of how alcohol can impact our mental health. So, in order to help pace ourselves, we’ve found supplementing our cocktails with a few no and low alcohol alternatives seems to help keep things under control.
If you can relate, we think we’ve found the answer to this summer’s drinking dilemma. Enter: the session IPA. So called for having a lower alcohol content (coming in at under 4.5%), it means that for those that fancy it, all-day drinking is still on the cards. And for the rest of us, we can still partake while taking it that little bit easier.
It’s basically this summer’s must-drink craft beer, and to ensure you don’t waste your time, we’ve tried them all, so you know exactly which ones are worth loading up your tote with.
Obviously, we’d never pick up a six-pack based purely on the label, but it doesn’t hurt that there’s some real lookers in this low abv line-up too.
How we test
We rounded up 10 craft beer fans to see what they had to say about 17 of the most popular session IPAs. On the hunt for the most thirst-quenching, sunshine-drenched brews, these are the ones they recommend adding to your basket RN.
Brick Brewery Peckham Session 330ml
Inspired by long, lazy days spent in sunny Peckham Rye, this tropical bevvy is perfect regardless of what park you find yourself in. It’s bursting with sweet, creamy mangos and packs in plenty of refreshing lemon, too. You’ll defo want another chilled one waiting for you when you’re through.
Brewdog Clockwork Tangerine 330ml
You might remember Brewdog coming under fire for its *hilarious* “beer for girls” marketing stunt (insert eye roll here). Turns out the pink label was actually to raise awareness about gender pay inequality and sexist advertising, and it definitely gets that point across. But, either way, we’ll be sticking to this juicy boi instead. It’s full of all things orangey, including eh, tangerine, marmalade and citrus.
This can is quite the looker, and it tastes just as good as you’d expect. It’s all about the bittersweet grapefruit and although it’s oh-so-refreshing, it’s full of flavour, so we’d recommend pairing with bold, salty food such as *that* viral TikTok feta and tomato pasta recipe.
Ok, so it’s not the cheapest, but this super-sized can is a dreamboat of ripe tropical fruit and sweet lemon. If it was a cocktail, we reckon it’d be an elegant Mai Tai, thanks to heaps of complexity and a long finish.
Sometimes even a session beer just isn’t light enough — so if you’d rather switch to a totally non-alcoholic alternative, Lowlander brings the goods. It still has bags of flavour, including mango and cardamom, and is awesome with a curry. Oh, and a percentage of sales goes towards helping Sri Lanka’s wild elephant population live in harmony with local farmers. A win-win.
We’re not saying gluten-free IPA is going to completely eradicate the beer bloat, but it can’t hurt, right? Fruity orange and mango is combined with a well-balanced bitter twist, for a refreshing little summer drop. Your high-waisted jeans will thank you for it.
If you’re still not quite convinced session IPA is for you, this budget buy is a great place to start. Working out at just £1.25 a can, it’s mega light and zesty - and therefore super easy to drink.
A beer that smells like elderflower and freshly cut grass you say? Technically this one’s an “extra” pale ale (so somewhere between a straight up pale ale and an IPA), and began life as a collab with Field Day festival. We reckon it’s still got that feel-good vibe about it, thanks to lashings of passionfruit, mango and hops.
Stacey looks after all food and drink reviews — from coffee pods and veg boxes, to natural wine and tequila. Stacey is also founder of Crummbs, where she’s written nearly 2,000 restaurant and hotel reviews since 2013. Prior to this, Stacey wrote hundreds of in-depth buying guides for the Independent, i newspaper and BBC Good Food, as well as reviewing restaurants and interviewing celebrities in her column at Balance Magazine. Stacey has also appeared in BAFTA-nominated BBC documentary Blood, Sweat & Takeaways, where she investigated South East Asia's food production industry, appearing on both Newsnight and BBC World Service to share her findings. Regularly checking out the latest restaurants, bars and product launches, Stacey also loves experimenting with recipes at home, and is a WSET-certified wine and spirits expert, with over 10 years of experience in the business. You can follow Stacey on Instagram @crummbs_uk
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