Pale Ales, Hefeweizens, and dare I say....Light beers?

Jun 12, 2010

by DevonCook
posted in The Beer Snob

Rating:

It's the middle of summer and ive just come back from a three hour hapkido session. After chugging down some much needed h2o, I come to the conclusion that nothing would be better for a little refreshment then a nice cold beer. The problem is, with so many good and bad beers out there to choose from, which should one choose if the goal is a little refreshment on a hot summer day? There are three factors to consider I think.

1. Quality- not just how the beer tastes but other less obvious factors come into play when choosing a good summer beer. As a fisherman, I often go out onto the lake shore with a six pack or so and enjoy some good times with family and freinds. Even if you have a cooler, you risk the beer getting polluted by the suns rays if they are in clear or green bottles. This phenomenon is know as skunking. Brown bottle beers like sam adams don't get skunked, and are a great choice in this sun exposed situation. Another option is cans. I don't mind a Miller now and then, but it's not my go too choice among beers. I believe Boont Creek is currently releasing some lighter styled canned beers that would be a good choice to ensure the beer stays quality.

2. Style- No one wants to drink a hop laden, heavy, bitter beer in the middle of July! Stay away from heavier styles like the Indian Pale Ale, and Stouts. Save these for the winter time. Pale ale's, witbiers, and hefeweizens are the way to go. All of the aformentioned brews are light bodied, and very refreshing in the heat of summer. The cheaper hefe's I enjoy are from Pyramid, and as far as ales-my go to beer is Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. One of the best brews on the planet friends. Although id rather have one regular beer then two light beers, you can find many good light beers out there that are perfect for this occasion as well. There light body and low abv work well for our purposes and this leads me into the third and final factor.

3. ABV- Alcohol by volume is another factor to consider when choosing a good summer beer. Remeber, your going to be drinking these all day fishing and camping and you will want to keep a nice buzz but nothing to the point were you cant function well. Look for a beer that falls into the category of a "Session beer". A session beer is any beer that falls into a certain alcohol range (Some say 4% while others say anything below 5.5) that one can consume many of over an extened period of time without getting drunk. That is of course the goal of drinking good beer. This will help keep your senses in tact so you can better enjoy the company of loved ones and of course great beer this long hot summer.

Cheers!

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sunshineliz June 25, 2010

Mmm...Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Nice review - there's nothing like being out on the water with some yummy Summer brews.

DevonCook June 25, 2010

You said it! SNPA is one of the best imho, and great year round! Thanks for your comment :)

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DevonCook June 13, 2010

Why thank you! I most certainly will check it out and look forward to reading your reviews as well as others in the beer community. Cheers x 2 :)

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devora June 13, 2010

Great review, Devon! I look forward to imbibing on your advice :) By the way, you should check out the Beer Snob community and perhaps follow it and share your review there. It will be in good company! Cheers indeed!

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About the reviewer

Devon Cook (DevonCook)
Ranked #8

I am a senior at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles California where I am persuing a degree in Englishliterature with a certificate in journalism. On my free time I practiceHapkido and jujitsu … more