Raising the Bar: Summer Beers

Nonetheless, a refreshing, seasonal beer is certainly a welcome attribute to the freedom of Summer, and I took it upon myself to hit the local liquor store and sample a five-pack of different Summer brews to determine which one would be the chief component to my upcoming three-month binge of barbecues, tiki parties, hangovers and apologizing. 

Here now, the results. In the interest of getting a fair and balanced opinion from someone who typically doesn’t drink a lot of beer and subsequently puke over guardrails on a weekly basis, I got my wife to assist me in the five-bottle sampling and sound off with her own findings. She’s not the most astute and knowledgeable beer enthusiast out there, but at the very least we ended up getting drunk and watching American Idol together, which was more enjoyable than it actually sounds. 

 

Beer #1 – Redhook “Sunrye Summer Ale” 

Brewed In – Portsmouth, NH 

Color/Aroma – Light, citrusy, sweet, crisp and amber. You know: gay. 

My Wife Sez’ – “It’s fizzy.” 

Tastes Like? – Bright with a fruity aftertaste. Light and refreshing. Not bad at all for Round 1. I could easily see myself knocking back about eight of these over the course of a Summer evening, then singing Jimmy Buffet songs to the neighbor’s dog until I passed out. 

 

Beer #2 – Beach Bum “Blonde Ale” 

Brewed In – St. Louis, MO 

Color/Aroma – Malty, hoppy and spicy, with a smooth, golden color. Like a cheap, white wine. 

My Wife Sez’ – “It tastes and smells like the beach. Oh, and it’s fruity, too.” 

Tastes Like? – To me, the beach smells like coconut oil and white trash failure, so I’m not too sure what my wife was referring to. That being said, the hoppiness of the Blonde Ale might be a little too heavy for a traditional Summer ‘Lawnmower Beer,’ but it would be delicious with a carb-packed dinner. Say, pasta. Or a loaf of Rye bread, if you’re lazy. 

 

Beer #3 – Central Waters “Lac Du Bay IPA” 

Brewed In – Amherst, WI 

Color/Aroma  - Standard IPA; woody, hop-heavy and rusty. Also, awesome. 

My Wife Sez’ – “It smells like French cologne. Damn, it tastes like French cologne, too!” 

Tastes Like? – I’m an IPA fan, but these heavy brews aren’t the best thing to be chugging on a sweltering Summer night. A lower-gravity ale should be on your list, so the Lac Du Bay IPA, while tasty and fully capable of messing me up in seconds flat, wouldn’t be a good choice for a traditionally ‘Summer’ beer. 

 

Beer #4 – Capital Brewery “Island Wheat Ale” 

Brewed In – Door County, WI 

Color/Aroma – Pale, clean, light and airy. Like your ex-girlfriend’s mom. 

My Wife Sez’ – “It’s wheaty, and I can almost drink it without wanting to throw up.” 

Tastes Like? – This is what a decent Summer beer should taste like, although it is a little weak in the flavor category. Capital never lets me down when it comes to specialty beers, and this one comes highly recommended for a night by the pool, or a night getting arrested in someone else’s pool. 

 

Beer #5 – New Glarus “Totally Naked” 

Brewed In – New Glarus, WI 

Color/Aroma – Fruity, light, foamy and smoothly golden. Like Jesus’ tears. 

My Wife Sez’ – “It’s Ale-ish.” (Note: She was fairly intoxicated by this point.) 

Tastes Like? – The definition on the ‘Totally Naked’ bottle says it all: “Pure and crisp, this is a beer with nothing to hide. Wisconsin two-row barley malt ensures a mellow and smooth body. We imported Noble Hop varieties from Germany and the Czech Republic to ensure a fine, mature aroma with no coarse bitterness. This lager is brewed using all-natural ingredients with no artificial additives of any kind.” 

The New Glarus Brewery is a Wisconsin microbrew staple, and they have yet to let me down. Seasonal beer or otherwise, ‘Totally Naked’ is the definition of a light beer with big flavor; about as good of a Summer beer as I’ve ever tasted. 

 

So, there you have it. A small sampling of Summer beers to get the season off on the right note. Sound off in the comments and let us know what your favorite Summer beer is.