BREW NEWS

June 24, 2009 | By Full Sail

Full Sail Brewing Celebrates Ten Years of Employee Ownership with the Release of Session Black

Full Sail Brewing has a lot of things to celebrate this July. Our nation’s independence, Oregon Craft Beer Month, and, most significantly for us, celebrating our own independence. On July 2, we celebrate our tenth anniversary as an employee – owned brewery. To commemorate, we are delighted to showcase the release of Session Black Premium Dark Lager, which is ready to hit the stores in early July.

 

“Session has been about the love of beer. As an independent, employee-owned brewery, we have the freedom to be innovative and to brew beers of world class quality that celebrate the joy of beer,” said Irene Firmat, Full Sail founder and CEO

 

Session is more than just another beer brand.  It’s a breath of fresh air. Sporting a stubby old-school bottle, distinctive name and retro-cool logo, Session has rewritten the rules of creating a new beer brand. Session is neither a micro, a macro, nor an import. It’s a little of each.  And yet, none of the above.  In other words, Session is a true original.  It has an authenticity all its own and that is something to be proud of.

 

“Session Black is short, dark and totally drinkable. The initial tastes are a subtle pairing of caramel and chocolate malt flavors with precise hopping to provide an elegant citrus background to the delicate finish of dark cocoa,” said Jamie Emmerson, Full Sail’s Executive Brewmaster.  Classic 11oz stubby bottles of Session Black will be available in twelve packs year-round. ABV 5.4  IBU 22

 

Released in 2005, original Session, with its bright red label, is a classic all-malt pre-Prohibition style lager.  Named World’s Best Premium Lager at the World Beer Awards and winner of a slew of other shiny trophies, Session has truly earned itself a place at the bar.  Not to mention the barbeque.

 

So who is the quintessential Session drinker?  That’s hard to say, really.  You see, virtually everyone who likes beer likes Session.  Whether they’re craft beer aficionados, import drinkers or devotees of lawnmower beers, Session is the one beer they can all agree on. Even Session’s name speaks to that rare ability to cross boundaries.  Beer geeks might presume we named it Session because it bears a resemblance to British ‘session beers,’ the ones that go down so easily you can drink two or three in a row. At the brewery in Hood River, Oregon, locals would insist it’s called Session as a shout-out to Full Sail’s boardsports heritage: as in surf session, jam session, have a good session. In fact, they’re both right.  And that’s the beauty of Session. It’s inclusive without being ordinary.  Accessible without becoming mainstream.  It’s a brand that lets you own a little piece of it.  And there’s nothing more powerful than that.