Beer Style: Made by Founders Brewing, All Day IPA is a session beer. “Session” drinking essentially means drinking for a long time without getting blitzed—or as I call it, “having a DAY.” BeerAdvocate posits that session drinking started during World War I, when British shell-production workers had government-mandated windows during which they could drink. The munitions makers wanted to be able to drink for a few hours without returning to work falling-down drunk. (You can also accomplish this goal by quitting your job, but the wartime Brits were too patriotic for that.)
To the end of producing tasty but session-able beers, brewers try to make their session offerings tasty with a low alcohol by volume (ABV).
Beer Packaging: The centerpiece of All Day IPA’s label is a wood-paneled station wagon toting a red canoe, because nothing caps off a day of binge drinking like hopping in your 1979 Ford Country Squire and driving it into the river.
The Beer: All Day IPA is well named. This would be my beer of choice if I ever needed to drink IPAs for some 24-hour hops-endurance challenge. (I’d name the event 24 Heures du Hops.) At 4.7% ABV, All Day IPA has only slightly more alcohol than a light beer, but it easily out-flavors any light beer I’ve ever had (as well as many craft beers). You can drink a bunch of these without feeling bogged down, so Founders Brewing fulfilled the session part.
As for the IPA part: This beer wouldn’t be as satisfying with a meal or as a single-drink experience as something like Dogfish Head’s 60 Minute IPA or Bell’s Two Hearted Ale. However, it still tastes great—its sharp-but-light bitterness is like a lead guitar with just the right amount of distortion. And a few All Day IPAs won’t make you bloat up or want to fall asleep like heavier IPAs might. The makers of this this brew set out with a clear goal and nailed it.
The Steger Sector 