Full Sail Session Black

According to Jamie Emmerson, Full Sail's brewmaster, "Session Black is short, dark ansession blackd totally drinkable." It's a dark, and I do mean dark, companion to the gold-medal winning Full Sail Session lager. At 5.4 ABV, Session Black has a slightly ABV than some session beer experts see as typical of session beers, but for my money, it's an extremely drinkable session beer. While it is dark—rich with malt, and chocolate overtones, with an amazing odor—Session Black is not even a little bit "chewy." This very much isn't a meal in a glass, but it really is full of flavor. The finish is a little different than I'm used to in dark beers; it's got a definite impression of hops at the end. I'm really really liking this one, better even than the Full Sail Session Lager. Like its fraternal twin, Session Black comes in pre-Prohibition style 11 ounce "stubbies." I should probably admit that I think it's a little better if it's only slightly chilled, rather than ice cold. And, perhaps best of all, the 11 ounce stubbies are going to be available year-round in 12 packs.

This is one of those beers that's lovely on it's own or with food—and I'd like to recommend that you accompany it with really rich dark chocolate-chip cookies, or very densely chocolate brownies.

In the Full Sail press release I linked to, they point out that they released Session Dark in celebration of not only the nation's birthday, but Full Sail Brewery's tenth anniversary as an employee-owned company. I think that's pretty fabulous, and I am definitely going to visit them in Hood River, Oregon.