It’s been weird acclimating to the desire for less, but that’s exactly where my fascination with “session beer” has led me. As I’ve come to love this growing segment of the craft beer world, my priorities have shifted a bit. At first, it was fascination with the novelty. Then, I started to prize the usefulness of true session beers. Of course, given that there’s no regulating body to decide what that means, it means different things to different brewers.

For me, the utility of a session beer rests in the fact that it has significantly lower alcohol than your “average” beer. As such, I can drink a lot more of them without having any other concerns. While I don’t discount the role of intoxication in the enjoyment of beer, there are just as many times when I’d prefer to maintain full control of my faculties even while I enjoy a good number of beverages. Session beer is perfect for this. Or course, in order for it to meet that aim, session beer has to clear the right hurdles … by ducking under them. At 5.2%ABV, I’m just not sure Nooner ducks low enough.

session beer n. Any beer that contains no higher than 5 percent ABV, featuring a balance between malt and hop characters (ingredients) and, typically, a clean finish – a combination of which creates a beer with high drinkability. The purpose of a session beer is to allow a beer drinker to have multiple beers, within a reasonable time period or session, without overwhelming the senses or reaching inappropriate levels of intoxication. – beeradvocate.com

Nooner pours a crystal clear, almost neon yellow. A fluffy white head dissipates to a sudsy cap.

The nose is all sweet, crackery malt up front. Just a hint of bright, lemony aroma follows up, with dry and fresh grass closing things out. It’s clean, straightforward and properly suited for a German pilsner, if a bit on the pale side.

A subtle spicy bitterness gives way to a nicely rounded toast/cracker malt profile on first sip. Hints of grains of paradise (a spice of the ginger family), citrusy and peppery, bump up against a floral lilt. It’s simple, clean, and enjoyable. Refreshing. Each sip invites you back in for another, with a spritely carbonation keeping pace with the light, easy-going body. It finishes nice and dry, but with a roundness of flavor that’s kept in check by a mild hoppy bitterness at the back edge.

It’s not that I don’t like Nooner. It’s fine. It’s pretty good, even. I’d drink it again. You know when I wouldn’t drink it, though? When I want a session beer. I know that it’s not branded a session beer per se (in that “session” not actually a part of the name), but the marketing is pretty clear about its intentions. It’s the wrong bandwagon, though. Given the large volume of beers that hover around the 5% mark, 5.2% isn’t exactly a departure from the norm.

It should be, in order to wear the “session” badge, or the term has little to no meaning. I want it to have meaning, because I think session beers are important. This is a pretty good German pilsner, but it isn’t a session beer, and that distinction is worth making.