(Boston, MA) – On March 1, Notch Brewing will debut two new beers – Notch Session Ale and Notch Session Pils – and for the first time, Notch will be available in bottles.

To celebrate, a kick-off event will take place on March 1st at Lower Depths in Kenmore Square, Boston, MA from 7 – 9PM. Throughout the month of March, both Notch offerings will become available at package stores in greater Boston, and will spread the distribution territory through the Spring to include all of Eastern MA. The new Notch Session beers will also be available on draft at bars in and around Boston.

Notch Brewing was founded by beer industry veteran and brewer Chris Lohring, formerly of Boston’s Tremont Brewery. In a craft beer world where alcohol content grew higher and higher with each new beer release, Chris felt strongly it was time to swing the pendulum back to lower alcohol Session beers. So in 2010, he launch Notch American Session Beer and began brewing only beers lower than 4.5% ABV (alcohol by volume). Chris is an independent brewer – he owns no facility – instead brewing and collaborating with other breweries. He strongly believes in this collaborative approach, and currently brews in Ipswich, MA and Kennebunk, ME.

Notch Session Ale (4.5% ABV) has a deep copper color, firm malt body and a dry, hoppy finish. Notch Session Ale is well balanced, but in true American fashion, the hop flavor is up front and the beer finishes dry. Notch Session Ale is hopped throughout the brewing process with three US hop varieties, resulting in a complex depth of hop flavor. The US has no Session Ale tradition – so this is Chris’ interpretation.

Notch Session Pils (4.0% ABV) salutes the unfiltered Pilsners of the Czech Republic: crisp, herbal with a biscuity depth and balanced hop finish. This low gravity, unfiltered and unpasteurized Pilsner is known as “workers” or “tap” beer in the Czech Republic. And in the end, Czech Pilsners serve the same function as Brit Session Beer – lower ABV, great flavor, and built for multiple pints.