Skip The Extreme Beers For Equally Flavorful, Less-Potent Brews

The high-alcohol beers sweeping the craft-brewing scene are great, but you're limited to one or two bottles before your head starts spinning.

But microbrews don't need to be brawny to be big on flavor. Low-alcohol or "session" beers can be just as tasty as their more potent siblings. Plus, you can drink several of them without getting too buzzed.

Session brews, dubbed "bitters" or "milds" in England, typically average 5 percent ABV or less and are both balanced and drinkable. The categorization can encompass many styles, from tart wheat beers to inky stouts and funky saisons. Even microbreweries with reputations for crafting rocket-fuel beers are adding sessions to their roster.

Look for these bottles at your local shop, or order them online from Liquid Solutions.

We dare you to drink just one.

Full Sail Session Lager (5.1 percent ABV; $7 for six) Bottled in 11-ounce "stubbies," this Hood River, Oregon, brewery's take on the classic American lager is crisp, creamy and thirst-quenching (fullsailbrewing.com).

Stone Levitation Ale (4.4 percent ABV; $11 for six) California's uncompromising Stone scales back its trademark boldness in this copper-colored brew. It possesses a caramel backbone, with light floral hops and a mild mouthfeel (stonebrew.com).

Bayerischer Berliner Weisse (3 percent ABV; $4.50 for a 330 ml bottle) This wheat beer is a pitch-perfect take on the supertart, refreshing style; it's light and effervescent with just a hint of hops (bayerischer-bahnhof.de).

Brasserie Dupont Avril (3.5 percent ABV; $11 for a 750 ml bottle) From one of Belgium's premier farmhouse breweries, it's funky and earthy, with delicate straw and grass flavors (brasserie-dupont.com).