Beertender’s Summer Fridge
By Jessica Moss at June 24, 2009 | 8:47 am | Print
Tropical warmth drifting up from our friends to the south brought summer a little early this year. Heavy hanging heat and drenching humidity lend themselves well to lazy days at the pool, road trips, and barbeque parties. Summer as a whole lends itself to a specific kind of beer, beckoning for something light, crisp, and refreshing.
Beer’s history is riddled with references to seasonality, drinking styles that paired well with the season. Somehow, a St. Bernardus 12 lacks some of its hypnotic appeal drank while cutting the yard on a hot summer’s day, just as a Victory Prima Pils’ fantastic refreshing qualities are lost if enjoyed in front of a fire in a cabin surrounded by snow.
However, to enjoy Summer with a nice crisp, refreshing brew, you don’t have to turn to your multi-national conglomerate’s idea of a lager. Here are five fantastic summer brews for all tastes made by craft brewers.
Lion Imperial Lager, Sri Lanka, 8.8% abv
This beer looks like a traditional lager. It is gold in color, translucent with a beautiful white fluffy head. This beer tastes like a delicious traditional lager, light and crisp with flavors of fresh baked bread, green grapes, and mild grassy spice. The mind blowing thing about this beer is the fact that despite its subtle, simple perfection in flavor, it has more alcohol by volume than a Duvel. Dangerously smooth, thirst-quenching, and refreshing, this beer is the answer to a summer strong ale.
McAuslan St. Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale, Canada, 5%abv
On the sweeter side, but still amazingly drinkable, is McAuslan’s St. Ambroise. This beer lacks the heavy wheat flavors commonly found, but replaces it with mild flavors of apricot and honey. It is balanced though, with a touch of hop bitterness and citrus tang. It pours copper amber and unfiltered but very effervescent. The wheat in the brew adds a touch of sweetness to the finish, with a lingering vanilla and honeysuckle flavor. Overall, fantastically easy to drink and great for a summer’s day due to crispness and balance of flavor.
Bell’s Oberon, MI 6%abv
Yes, Bell’s has finally come to Georgia, bringing with them their famous summer creation, the Oberon Ale. This Wheat Ale is made using German Saaz hops (commonly used in German Pilsners) and Belgian wheat. Pouring pale orange, the brew is lightly spicy, sweet, and citrusy without ever being overwhelming. Mild cloves and gentle yeast flavors finish out making the entire drinking experience smooth and effortless. Extremely well balanced and well crafted, this beer may just be easier to drink than water.
Deproef Saison Imperiale, Belgium 8.5%abv
The saisons of Belgium were originally engineered to be thirst quenching remedies for the working farmer during the warmer months of hard labor. This imperial saison looses some of the traditional saison farmhouse flavor that allows the beer to be so refreshing, but it retains the lightness of body in combination with the amazing full-flavor combinations notorious of Belgian-beers. This copper beer is sweet, with flavors of biscuits, orange, and some herbaceous spice. The finish is very dry, balancing out the sweetness and creating a full flavored beer great to enjoy at summer’s peak.
Victory Wild Devil, PA 6.7%abv
Hoppy beers often make some of the most refreshing summer libations due to the dry bitterness in the flavor is perceived as being thirst quenching. The Victory Hop Devil is a fantastically hoppy American IPA pouring a dark red in color with huge flavors of hops and great bitterness without much cloying sweetness. The Wild Devil takes it to another level, adding wild yeast (commonly Brettanomyces)to ferment the beer giving it a balanced, sour and earthy flavor. The bitter flavor from the hops is all but gone, leaving behind a tart earthiness with mild grapefruit flavors and caramel. A fantastically complex beer, this one is only available in 750mL bottles for a limited time.
Jessica Moss
Beertender at Muss & Turner’s
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