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Summer Beers – 2019

Summer Beer Roundup

Ah, summer. Just saying the word is enough to make you take a deep breath and relax. Few things are as great as kicking back on your porch or even at the beach with a good beer. From shandys to pale ales to wheat beers and beyond…summer beers are all about refreshing you and beating the heat.

There’s a sacred bond that exists between warm weather and beer. While a good beer is great all year, there’s just something about a hot day that makes a beer taste better than normal. To help you and your enjoyment of your summer beers, we compiled a list of beers that symbolize summer and of course, are perfect for some serious porch drinking.

Bell’s Brewery Oberon
Few things taste more like summer than a cold can of Bell’s Oberon. This 5.8% ABV wheat beer features a spicy hop character with mild fruity aromas. The malt gives this beer a smooth mouthfeel and pleasant lightness that makes it nearly perfect for the warm summer months. Oberon is available in 12-oz cans as well as the 16-oz pint cans, giving you the exact right amount of beer to make the porch-sitting months hopefully last forever.

Erie Brewing Soleil Shandy
Our friends in Erie brew their Soleil Shandy each summer to help ease those hot days. Shandys are a mix of beer and juice, making them lower in alcohol and substantially more refreshing than your typical beer. Erie’s take on the shandy comes in at 3.5% ABV and features flavors of lemon and raspberry and just enough tartness to make you want more.

North Country Brewing Co. Bucco Blonde
Blonde ales are typically light and refreshing, making them a perfect match for warm weather, and North Country Brewing’s Bucco Blonde is no exception. This 4.9% blonde ale has a great malt body with a hint of bitterness to balance things out. This beer was brewed specifically for Pittsburgh’s very own Pirates. More specifically, for and by the Bucco’s pitching coach Ray Searage, also known as Uncle Ray, and proceeds go to benefit the Make a Wish foundation.

Anderson Valley Brewing Summer Solstice
Unlike winter and fall beers, summer beers fall into quite a few categories and run the gamut of flavors. Take for example Anderson Valley’s Summer Solstice. This beer is slightly sweet with a malty backbone and a clean finish. Summer Solstice is considered a session beer, coming in at 5% ABV, making it perfect for having a few beers while barbequing or cutting the grass. Bravo hops give this beer a slight hop flavor and the light spice addition gives the beer a hint of caramel and spice, making it a “cream soda for adults” without being too sweet.

Victory Brewing Summer Love
Coming out this summer again in a can is Victory’s seasonal Summer Love. While there are many reasons to love summer, Summer Love is possibly the best. This golden ale comes in at 5.2% ABV and features tastes of fresh, clean German malts with earthy and spicy noble European hops, finishing up with a lemony aftertaste thanks to some whole flower American hops. Even though that can will keep your beer fresh longer, Victory Summer Love is available in bottles, too.

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Dragons & YumYums – If there’s one thing the folks at Dogfish Head know, it’s how to pair music and beer up in a way that is never gimmicky or forced. Their most recent entry into their beer and music lineup comes by way of the weird and wonderful band The Flaming Lips. Together with the brewers at Dogfish Head, the band came up with a beer that fits their personality while fitting perfectly into DFH’s unique beer lineup. Dragons & YumYums is a 6.5% ABV “Lip-smacking” tart pale ale that’s brewed with dragonfruit, yumberry, passionfruit, pear juice, and black carrot. All ingredients you’d expect to find in a beer from Dogfish Head, and a lineup just eclectic enough to do the Flaming Lips justice.

Block House Brewing
Summer means a lot of things to a lot of people. To some it’s swimming pools and sun shades, to others it’s vacations, shorts, and relaxation. Thankfully Block House Brewing’s Summer Break is the perfect pairing for each of these and more. This 5% ABV summer seasonal pours a hazy golden color with a light, fizzy white head. Expect tastes of ruby red grapefruit and lemonade with the light, refreshing taste of 190 calorie beer. If you’re looking for a sign that summer is officially here, this is it.

Cigar City Brewing After-Sesh Ale
There have been beer collaborations with bands, businesses, clothing companies, and even film companies, but Cigar City Brewing took the idea of collaborations to a new level with their latest beer with the Skatepark of Tampa, Florida. This 4.5% ABV sessionable beer has notes of lime, orange, and salt that’s light, crisp, and refreshing. Together they make this summer seasonal beer perfect for a post-skate session relax session of its own.

Long Trail Summer Ale
Freshly updated thanks to a small batch brewery-only release, the brand new 5.4% ABV beer pours a golden hazy color and inside the glass you’ll find tastes of juicy fruit-centric hops and just enough bitterness to make this beer bright, refreshing, and perfect for summer months.