Summertime, and the Drinking’s Easy

Summer drinking usually invokes images of tubs of ice filled with swilly macro beers.  It’s hot out, the beer is cold, might as well drink it, right?  Thankfully, craft brewers are looking out for us.  Here are a couple summer brews from a couple well known California breweries to help you beat the heat as summer approaches. 

Whenever a new season hits, I usually look to Anchor Brewing before others for a seasonal brew.  In the summer you used to be able to find Anchor Wheat, but while the beer stayed the same, the name has changed to Anchor Summer Beer.  Back when it went under the Anchor Wheat label, I wasn’t a big fan of wheat beers.  I thought they tasted like dirty socks.  Lately, I’ve been a bigger fan of wheat beers, actively searching them out.  Unfortunately, Anchor’s offering still leaves me a bit disappointed.  The first taste brings back memories of that dirty sock funk.  As it warms, the beer gets better but this is not my favorite beer.

The second beer I tried was from Sierra Nevada.  As I mentioned being excited about Anchor’s seasonal releases, I’m usually indifferent towards Sierra Nevada.  But in order to bring you readers my opinion of the beers available to the public, I said, “Mario, this is your cross to bear, buy the beer.”  What a wonderful decision that was.

Sierra Nevada’s Summerfest Lager impressed me before I even opened the bottle.  This beer is amazingly clear.  This remained true as I poured it into a glass.  Very rich and malty with a spicy hop finish, this is a ghreat beer to drink on a hot day.  They beer starts out very light and refreshing out of the fridge and remains so as it warms.  Sierra Nevada stepped out of their comfort zone with this beer and pulled off a very solid lager.  Make sure to try this one at a BBQ or while spending some time under the summer sun.

Besides a prep for summer, I felt that many of the beers I’ve been drinking have been towards the extreme end.  I want to make sure that all craft beers get a little love, so look for a few more session beers to get some exposure.  If you have a favorite summer beer, let me know, and I’ll go buy a bottle.