Societe Brewing The Coachman
4.9% ABV | 6-pack of 12oz cans | Session IPA | Mosaic, Citra + Simcoe hops | Great American Beer Festival Gold 2015 & 2018 | Societe Brewing, San Diego, CA — Societe The Coachman is the "really small IPA" that rewrote the session-IPA playbook: all the aromatic intensity of a full-strength American IPA packed into a crushable 4.9% ABV. The Coachman has won TWO Great American Beer Festival gold medals (2015, 2018), plus San Diego International Beer Festival gold (2016) — the definitive session IPA, per Paste Magazine (#7 World's Best Session IPAs). Available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.
Brewmaster Travis Smith loads a 40%-malted-wheat base with Mosaic, Citra, and Simcoe, and the result punches way above its weight: lemon-rind pithiness, peachy fruitiness, evergreen resin notes, and — the brand's own words — restraint. It never tastes watery, just refreshing. Among San Diego IPAs, The Coachman is the one the whole beer-obsessed city reaches for when there's a second (or third) round in the cards.
Tasting notes
Nose: lemon zest, grapefruit, peach, pine resin. Palate: citrus pith, juicy peach, crackery malt, firm smooth bitterness. Finish: dry, clean, lingeringly hoppy. (Brewery notes; 4.9% ABV.)
Why buy it from Del Mesa Liquor
- 4.9% ABV session IPA — full IPA flavor, easy-drinking strength
- GABF Gold 2015 & 2018; SD International Beer Festival Gold 2016
- Mosaic, Citra, and Simcoe hops over a 40%-wheat malt base
- Brewed in San Diego — a local legend from Societe Brewing
- Available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor
How to serve it
Ice-cold from the can or a pint glass — and drink it fresh; session IPAs don't improve with age.
Frequently asked questions
What is a session IPA?
A full-flavored IPA brewed at low ABV (under ~5%) — hop intensity without the alcohol weight.
What hops are in The Coachman?
Mosaic, Citra, and Simcoe.
Has it won awards?
Two GABF golds (2015, 2018) and an SD International Beer Festival gold (2016).
Is it actually good, or just "good for a light beer"?
It's a legitimately great IPA that happens to be 4.9% — GABF agreed, twice.