..and what better way to kick of a cornucopia of lovely summer beers than with Summer Love itself!?
Victory Summer Love Ale... 5.2% ABV and 25 IBUs of American Blonde summer bliss. Light straw pour with a pretty lil head that stays the whole way through. Light grassy hops on the nose with some citrus, apricot and a bit of wheat with a faint sweetness shine through. Super light and crisp taste: a decent malt profile to balance out the lemon citrus acidity and rather surprising hop background. Hops in a summer beer... I know, crazy right? Well this puppy runs with that idea, and it sure works! Very smooth and refreshing, barely any aftertaste, but what remains is faintly sweet with a touch of bitter... quite different than most summer seasonals I've had and a welcome change! Nicely done, guys.
Another selection from Craft... it's great cause they let you get 1 of anything in the store so you can pick and choose instead of being 'stuck' with a 6er. Anderson Valley - Summer Solstice... in a can! The old name was Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema..so this is technically a summer cream ale.. at 5.6% ABV and only 4 IBUs. Holy Copper Pour.. this ain't your typical summer! Aroma of a mild amber, little bit of spice, some vanilla, lightly toasted malty sweetness. This just smells tasty.. and certainly lives up! Has the smooth creaminess of a... cream ale.. duh.. but was light and crisp like a summer lager. and the flavor! Somewhat of a caramel malt, toffee, orange, vanilla, clove.. wow! Had a crap ton of flavor, yet remained super light and crisp. Certainly different than any cream or summer ale.. a wicked good brew!!!!!!!!!
Sierra Nevada - Summerfest. Cause that's what summer is.. a fest! another 5.6% ABV but at 37 IBUs, a bit more bite to this one. A summer lager.. really a Czech-style pilsner.. so it's sure to be super super crisp. Light straw color and almost no head, but remained that way the entire way through. Nose was of light crusty bread with a little grassy hops and some citrus/apricot/white peach. The taste can simple be described as expected... CRISP! This was like a craft version of 'fizzy yellow beer' but not in a bad way! Everything about the flavor is (I hope) meant to be on the lighter side, geared towards summer. A little bit of citrus fruits, a little bit of floral, a little grassy/piney hops, a nice little bit of malt sweetness.. kinda dry, a bit bitter. But utterly refreshing, crisp and leaves you wanting more and wishing it'd get even hotter in the summer so this beer can be that much more refreshing, haha!
aaaaand moving on.. Dark Horse - Raspberry Ale. Not a true summer seasonal per se, but I've seen plenty of places with this on tap as their seasonal rotation and its got the flavor to back itself up as a summer. 5.5% ABV.. a nice coppery red pour and thick head. Raspberry puree is dominant in the nose, but not overpowering. The tartness of fresh raspberries actually comes through along with a nice warm caramel/apple pie aroma. This is for sure a fruit wheat beer, nice medium-bodied wheat/grain taste with a ton of carbonation. The bubbles lend themselves nicely to the raspberry tart taste, which again isn't overpowering. Subdued and mingled with some orange notes, this fruit beer doesn't come off as light, watery and artifical. Although a year-round brew,
Harpoon - Summer Beer: a New England staple. A Kolsch-style summer brew at 5.50% ABV and 28 IBUs.. a light golden pour with a weak head, quickly fades. Light citrusy hop aroma.. touches of lemon, grassy and faint grains present. Kolsch-style yes.. so getting some of that 'European' aroma in the nose.. probably the yeast strain..vaguely similar to a Saison or Hefe weizen. A very light beer.. the taste comes across as bright as the pour. Lightly toasted grains, very smooth and rounded with a substantial amount of carbonation. Jumps from an underlying malt sweetness to slightly sour/metallic. Lemony, more grassy hops poking through with a bubbly, dry, crisp finish. Harpoon Summer just tastes like the summer sun in a bottle
From one Kolsch to another.. Sam Adams - East-West Kolsch. Not technically a summer beer by name alone..it was in the Summer Variety pack as a new style...so here we go! Brewed with southeast Asain Jasmine Sambac flowers.. combining with the European style beer to create an 'East-West' brew. 5.01% ABV..IBUs are unknown.. pours the same great golden color as the Harpoon Summer. A similar nose with more malts and grains providing a sweeter aroma, but still with lemon and grass notes and a faint floral background. This one has a bit more body than the Harpoon with some mild spice notes in the taste. Another bright beer, very crisp, mild malt/toasted grain sweetness..apricot and lemon/orange citrus flavors with a mild hop taste in the middle.. the finish is a bit dry and floral, must be jasmine in the brew. A nice tweak to a Kolsch and a slight departure for a Sam brew.. cool addition to the variety pack.
Sam Adams - Rustic Saison. The other new style from the Summer Variety pack at a very light 4.35% ABV. A bit more golden in color than your traditional Saison. Not much in the way of a nose on this one.. fairly yeasty (and not a Saison-style yeast either) Some light citrus, a little floral and very very faint malt sweetness. None of the traditional aromas. The taste followed the nose, a fairly sweet beer with not much in the way of a hop profile, but none of the banana/clove or mild creamy full body that you'd find in this style. A bit lemon-y, slightly bitter in a non-hoppy way...almost akin to a rice beer. It was certainly smooth, albeit not very easy-drinking.. could have been a bad bottle, but I'm fairly disappointed in Sam for this one. Might try bottle #2 from the pack...might not.
Peak Organic - Summer Session Ale. Cool thing about Peak (yeah, it's organic ingredients..blah blah) is they use as much local (New England) ingredients as possible. at 5.0% ABV and 61 IBUs, bit more hop kick than your normal summer brew and has all locally grown wheat in it. Turns out it's a dry-hopped summer, and being a session (5.0 is pushing it..but ok, Peak), it's super easy-drinking. Light golden, terrific foamy head with tons of wheat and grapefruity citrus. A nice, subtle hoppy beer with lemon peel and citrus flavors among a wheat background similar to an English Pale Ale.. making this far, far to easy to drink. Always had a thing against any product touting itself as organic..makes me think there really might not be any difference cause this is a tasty summer!
Finally!!!! Sam Adams - Summer Ale! For Massachusetts..for New England.. THIS is the quintessential summer beer..might not be the best, but seeing this in stores for the first time means summer is fast on it's way, and tasting it instantly transports you to summers on the Cape on up in Maine with the family, cookouts, 85* sun on your face and summer nights at Fenway.. pure summer! 5.40% ABV and 10 IBUs..they use Grains of Paradise an 'ancient brewing spice' according to the television box.. A light, wheaty nose with lemon peel, a super faint spice and honey/orange... Light yet with a decent amount of body to it, crisp yet smooth and spicy. The lemon peel comes through again with a strong wheat and grain profile adding some sweetness to balance the citrus tart. A peppery and unique spice flavor is present..definitely the grains of paradise.. don'
t quite know how to describe it, but it adds a nice layer of flavor to this beer, elevating it above a wheat/lemon/citrus summer beer. Again, may not be the best summer beer out there, but saving some and drinking them in November or December is like keeping summer in a bottle.
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