What are your summer lager favorites?
As my friends, regular readers, and anyone who sat anywhere near me in a pub knows, my beer tastes run to the hoppy side.
I enjoy a good citrusy IPA, or a piney one, but also embrace well-made ESBs and pale ales with a strong hop angle to them. I love that I can drink them year-round and they are always fitting brews.
But on certain days, especially muggy summer ones, I, like a lot of beer drinkers, prefer something crisper and maybe lighter. The unctuous and tart aspects of big-hop beers are sometimes overwhelming when the heat starts bearing down on us. This is where I sometimes dial it back to a nice middle-of-the-road ESB, but really what I want in this case is a nice crisp well-made lager.
Fortunately for me, and, well, for all of us, there is no shortage of well-made bottom fermenting beers in the craft brew world. Today I'm going to name five of my favorites. These are not in any particular order, and as usual with my tastes, they could change by next week. But here are some I recommend for the coming summer months.
Brooklyn Pilsner: This powerhouse of the pils features a engaging nose and tinges of spiciness at the edge of its flavor profile. Long before Brooklyn became a hipster haven, Garrett Oliver was making beers before it was cool. But all his beers are cool. Brooklyn Lager is equally as good but I can't list Brooklyn twice (except for in the sneaky way I just did under one heading).
Victory Prima Pils: This is my way of cheating on the IPA love. This beer is definitely a Pilsner, but it's almost as hoppy as any IPA. But at 5.3% alcohol by volume, it's a lot less boozy than many of today's hop bombs. Tasty and refreshing.
Samuel Adams Boston Lager: I know a lot of beer snobs will look down on this pick, but that's just ignorance. This is a great session beer for a hot day and one that features an abundance of earthy caramel malts with some fruit notes mixed in. It's about as crisp as a beer can be.
American Darling: This brew by Pretty Things Ale and Beer Project is a shimmering gold gem showcasing some mild floral hops and a huge dollop of bread-like malts. Perfect for a day of mowing the lawn–or just lying on it.
Hoponius Union: This is a Jack's Abbey semi-hybrid beer that is brewed like an IPA but cold fermented with lager yeast. It definitely fits the profile of beers I'm looking for in the summer. A great balance of crispness and tartness.
What are your summer lager favorites? Post them in the comments section below.