Talking Head: Summer beers that don’t suck
May 30th, 2009 by Jeff Holland in Drink
Light Beer: Stone Levitation Ale
It’s that time of year again, where Bud Light Lime pulls its “seasons change, tastes don’t”ads and starts running its “Summer. Not just a season, but a taste” ads. Well, I’ve tasted summer and it is way better than Bud Light Lime. Commercials like these give the impression that summer beers have to taste like Gatorade so as not to interfere with your pickup game of football with the Girls of the Southeast Conference.
Certainly, summer calls for beer with a lighter body, a drier finish, moderate alcohol, and perhaps a bit of citric tartness. Sweet, thick, roasty, and potent beers do lose some of their appeal in hot weather. Still, the desired characteristics can be achieved without sucking out all the flavor. Additions of specialty malts, spices, and fruit can all make a beer more palatable on a hot day. More importantly perhaps, the right hops can add citrus, spice, and floral aromas and flavors, along with quenching bitterness.
The perception of heaviness in a beer can be mitigated by achieving higher attenuation, the extent to which the dissolved sugars are converted to alcohol by the yeast. A well-attenuated beer will be drier and less heavy than a less attenuated one. This is the “crispness” that is exemplified by pilsners and appropriated by American macrobrewers. But when you start with little, you end up with less, as is the case with the myriad variations on the light lager that start out with only a minimal dose of malt and hops.
Here are some suggestions for flavorful, refreshing, even “crisp” beers for summer that you can drink without chugging the last 4 ounces to get it down your gullet before it starts to get warm.
Stone Levitation Ale (Stone Brewing Company, Escondido, CA, 4.4% ABV) – Although it pours a deep copper, this beer fits into the pale ale category in terms of flavor and body. As would be expected from Stone, there’s lots of hop flavor, from piney notes, to grapefruit, to grassiness, but there is a solid ESB-like earthy malt underlying that keeps this one honest and balanced. The dry, slightly toasted finish is clean and pleasant, and the modest alcohol won’t knock you back if you are hanging out in the sun. A remarkable beer that proves that it is possible to make a refreshing, yet tasty low-alcohol beer.
Bell’s Oberon (Bell’s Brewery, Comstock, MI, 5.8% ABV) – The attractive Southwest-styled sun on the label tells you that this is a beer with good taste, but it is also a beer that tastes good. A generous dose of spicy Saaz hops and Bell’s fruity yeast yield a tangy-sweet beer that echews the watery lemonade character of most American wheat ales. Orange oil, green apple, and honeysuckle upfront yield to wheat malt that lifts the body without adding graininess. The finish is dry and slightly peppery, yet creamy at the same time. This is my go-to beer for the summer, especially if I am bringing for a crowd. Sorry Terrapin SunRay and Sweetwater Hummer, the competition has heated up.
Saison Dupont (Brasserie Dupont, Tourpes-Leuze, BEL, 6.5% ABV) – A good saison epitomizes excellent attenuation. The dry, champagne-like body is infused earthy, fruity, and grainy layers that tumble over the tongue and leave a clean, refreshing finish. Saison Dupont is the standard-bearer for farmhouse ales of southern Belgium-slightly funky, a little musty, but lively and complex. It’s bit pricey for swilling on the deck, but Saison Dupont is the perfect accompaniment to lighter summer meals.
Liefmans Frambozenbier (Brouwerij Liefmans, Oudenaarde, BEL, 4.0% ABV) – Not to be confused with Lindemans Framboise, which is a lambic sweetened with raspberries, this beer is made using two varieties of Liefmans Flanders Oud Bruin (old brown) ale blended with raspberry juice. The Oud Bruin and Goudenband that are blended are complex, tart ales with notes of sour cherry, oak, and vanilla that provide a musty balsamic-like malt base for the raspberry sweetness. Light, fruity and spritzy, with a low alcohol content for summer sipping, this beer makes a great companion to salads or chocolate.
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