A cold beer on a hot summer afternoon is really all it takes to make us happy. Particularly if we've just finished doing a bunch of yard work and want to relax for a few minutes before contemplating dinner. Here's what we've been sipping lately - what about you?
• East India Pale Ale from Brooklyn Brewery - This beer showcases earthy hop flavors with a touch of tart orange zest.
• PILS from Lagunitas Brewing Company - We like the sweet honey overtones and the grassy citrus finish on this Czech-style pilsner.
• 312 Urban Wheat Ale from Goose Island - We had the chance to try this at a recent beer tasting and were impressed by its crisp citrusy flavor.
• Hennepin Farmhouse Saison from Ommegang Brewery - Fruity, soft, and slightly tangy, this is what we drink when we want a change from citrusy summer beers and hoppy IPAs.
• Oberon from Bell's Brewery - This beer reminds us of fresh-squeeze orange juice - silky, bright, and citrusy.
• Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - An oldie but goodie. A nicely balanced blend of bitter hops and soft malts.
Which beers are you loving this summer?
Related: Mid-Day Brews: Low(er) Alcohol Beers to Have with Lunch
(Image: Flickr member wrumsby licensed under Creative Commons)
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less known, but as good if not better than all of these - Berkshire Brewing Co.'s Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale. Best summer beer I've ever had.
I've become partial to drinking Kolsch in the summer months. Gaffel and Schlafly Kölsch are both pretty delicious.
Rickards White all the way! I love eating the orange slice at the end yum yum.
For me, "a beer outside" means a sidewalk cafe, as I don't even have a fire escape to hang out on. And that means a draft Weissbier with a good half a lemon in it. Whatever the bartender recommends. Most places that serve Weissbier that way know exactly what's best right this second.
how cool to see a Michigan beer on your list! I didn't know Bell's was available outside the state.
Sierra Nevada has a Summertime beer this year. I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but there's some chilling in my fridge!
I've been drinking a lot of Speakeasy's White Lightning now that the weather's warmed up. With lemon. always with lemon.
Go Oberon!!
Hoegarden with a slice of orange super-cold. so light and refreshing!
I live outside of Charlotte, NC, and my all time favorite summer brew is Hummin' Bird, by Red Oak Brewery outside of Greensboro, NC. It's currently only available on tap at restaurants in the Charlotte area, the Triad, and the Triangle. If you're in one of those areas you should definitely give it a shot. It's great with Southern BBQ!
I like imperial IPAs in the summer. Avery Maharaja if you can find it is my favorite.
Bell's Oberon is an excellent choice.
'Moon Man' No Coast Pale Ale from New Glarus Brewery in Wisconsin is a truly fantastic beer.
If you are lucky enough to live in WI, check it out!
http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/Headlines.cfm?NewsID=155
At the NY Brewfest this past weekend, I had an incredible beer by a brewery Innis and Gunn.
They brew their beer in old rum casks. The taste was light-ish, yet still favor flavorful and strong. Loved it.
Gotta love that good ol' Michigan beer! I'm partial to Founders though. Love the Devil Dancer and Centennial IPA.
hands down, i'm german, but you can't get better beer than german beer. the germans got around 1300 breweries and you can't get a really BAD beer – the reason for that is called »deutsches reinheitsgebot« and this regulates the beer production in a very, very good way:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinheitsgebot
i think the most popular in the world should be beck's. and becks is quite okay. but my favorites are karlsberg ur-pils, holsten, jever and of course astra pils from hamburg.
but there are still a lot of small bavarian breweries that make amazing beer. it's a science at itself.
Yay Oberon, liquid sunshine in a bottle.
New Belgium's Skinny Dip and Sam Adams Summer Brew.
We took a road trip to the Sierra Nevada tasting room and restaurant last weekend and did the beer tasting: all 14 beers. I had no idea that Sierra Nevada made as many beers as they did. Great time.
Magic Hat #9, definitely.
flying fish extra pale ale is great for a lazy summer afternoon of drinking
Seconding Magic Hat #9, and adding their summer special Wacko, which has beet juice in it. (This makes for pink beer, which is pretty exciting!)
Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat. Yum!
Bell's Oberon has been my go-to beer these past few weeks. Such a perfect Summer brew!
Odell St Lupulin, Deschutes Twilight Ale and New Belgium Trippel
Definitely Magic Hat Wacko, just the right amount of sweetness in a light but full bodied tasting beer for the summer!
Abita Wheat or Abita Satsuma. Yum!
Surly Furious.
I've been liking Diamond Bear Brewery's Southern Blonde. I don't know if it's available outside Arkansas, though.
Nice to see a belgian style saison get mentioned. Hennepin is a great beer.
schlafly rasberry hefeviezen (local stl brewery) and magners. magners it an awesome irish cider. it's great for a hot summer day.
<3 Oberon times 1,000,000
I'm really into local beers from the Pacific Northwest (we live in seattle); but anything from Deschutes brewery in central oregon is always at the top of my list. even their dark beers are delightful to drink in the summer
Second the Pacific Northwest beers! Yay PNW! Too many good beers to name.
For non-PNW stuff, I am partial to Dogfish Head's Festina Peche and Crispin on Ice's Extra Dry Cider.
Bell's Oberon is one of my local favorites.
But, Boulevard Brewing in KC makes the absolute best unfiltered wheat beer known to man - Boulevard Wheat. Add some lemon and it's even better.
I second the Boulevard Wheat, with lemon. I was really excited when I found some in Austin, it reminded me so much of home (Nebraska).
I used to drink wheat beers in the summer, before I discovered sour ales. They range from light and refreshing to deep and downright funky, so I'd err on the side of light and refreshing. A cold Jolly Pumpkin's Roja, if you can find it, really hits the spot on a hot summer day.
I've tried a few of those from your list. I think my favorite was the Hennepin. It reminded me of vanilla ice cream with spiced pears and apples and honeyed toast.
@parsnips Gaffel's Kolsch is good.
the curve ball blonde ale from pyramid is perfect for summer sippin'! and i love their audacious apricot, as well!