Summer Beer Picks from a Certified Cicerone®

Jun. 26, 2015

Summer is finally upon us. Gone are the days of rich Stouts and hearty Robust Porters. In are cans of crisp lagers, bottles of sessionable IPAs and pints of refreshing wheat beers. Whether your customers are relaxing outside on the patio or packing a cooler for the lake, they'll surely be looking for summer sipper to drink and enjoy.

"Consumers want to drink more beer in the summer," said Certified Cicerone® and Wirtz Craft Beer Specialist Ryan Ferebee. "Options falling into the session category, meaning about 5% ABV or less, are more approachable than higher ABV beer, and typically are refreshing to the palate."

Ferbee also notes that right now there is a resurgence of classic German-style beers as consumers are moving away from the hop-bomb DIPAs and exploring more historical styles instead.

"Many of the craft breweries who’ve been around typically offer their summer seasonal year after year. As new breweries surface, we’re starting to see more classic styles with unique interpretations, and even historic styles such as Gose (pronounced gose–uh), now commonly found brewed by craft breweries everywhere" said Ferebee. "Another classic German beer, Berliner Weisse, not commonly found outside of Berlin at one point, is an upcoming style that is gaining popularity among the craft beer scene."

Give your customers what they're looking for and stock-up on these consumer favorites today.

Sierra Nevada Nooner Pils
Style: German Pilsner ABV: 5.2% IBUs: 38

Nooner is Sierra Nevada's take on the classic German-style pilsner--one of the original session beers. Nooner is easy drinking yet packed with the big flavor of spicy and floral whole-cone hops. Its brilliant golden color begs you to take a sip and sink your taste buds into an extremely welcoming beer, full of flavor and balanced by a crisp, dry finish.

Big Wood Brewing Amigo Grande
Style: Mexican-Style Lager ABV: 5.0% IBUs: 23

Inspired by "that one time in Mexico," Amigo Grande embodies a certain south-of-the-border style. A bit bigger and a bit friendlier than most, this refreshing Mexican Style Lager is the hidden beach of Big Wood Brewery. It’s also the only wingman you'll need in the summer sun when the living is easy and the lakes are
calling.

Boulevard Brewing Co. Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale
Style: Saison ABV: 8.5% IBUs: 38

This saison from Boulevard Brewing Co.'s Smokestack Series is wonderfully a straw colored, light bodied beer. An abundance of Amarillo hops give it an earthy, spicy, grapefruit aroma and flavor, in addition to some prominent bitterness for balance. Malted wheat provides a soft mouthfeel, and high carbonation makes the beer finish crisp and clean.

Samuel Adams KMF Grand Cru
Style: American Wild Ale ABV: 6.5 IBUs: 9

Kosmic Mother Funk Grand Cru is tart, funky, and complex with notes of dark fruits, cherry, cocoa & vanilla. The addition of a small amount of Belgian candi sugar adds a bit of smoothness and hint of sweetness to this vintage.Grand Cru often denotes a vintage of the highest quality or ‘the best of the best’. This inaugural release has been aging in our Barrel Room for two years.

Anchor Brewing Co. Summer Wheat
Style: American Wheat Ale ABV: 4.5% IBUs: N/A

Anchor Summer Wheat is an all-malt beer, with over 50% of its malt derived from malted wheat. It is fermented with a traditional top-fermenting "ale" yeast, yielding a clean, balanced flavor that highlights the refreshingly light flavor of the wheat. The crisp, clean flavors of Anchor Summer Wheat are refreshingly light, a thirst-quenching American-style filtered wheat beer.

Green Flash Brewing Co. Citra Session
Style: Session IPA ABV: 4.5% IBUs: 65

Citra Session IPA is brewed with high-quality Marris Otter and Vienna malt but the flavor is dominated by the Citra hops introduced throughout the boil and again in the dry hop for maximum aroma intensity. Notes of lemon, orange and grapefruit make this hop-laden brew a perfectly potable summer session IPA.

Ballast Point Brewing Co. Longfin Lager
Style: Helles Lager ABV: 4.5% IBUs: 18

Inspired by the Helles Style from Germany, this very light colored Lager is big on malt flavor. With the reserved use of hops in bittering, this crisp Lager has the aroma, and flavor of fresh baked bread thanks to the German produced Pilsner Malt.

Uinta Trader Session IPA
Style: Session IPA ABV: 4.0% IBUs: 42

Strong hop character with some pine and floral influences. Finishes clean with a delicate malt flavor and a hint of citrus zest. Do not be afraid to pair Trader India Pale Ale with food. While traditionally paired with bold flavors found in Indian curries, Trader pairs well with seafood dishes such as fried calamari.