Summer Quaffing

A beautiful woman came into Das Cooler on Tuesday pondering which new & interesting beer she could take to share with a friend. Instead of pointing her to a light, summer brew, I suggested Fish Brewing's contribution to the barley wine theater, Reel 10², in hopes that this would be a wonderful pairing with an enjoyable time spent with a good friend. In this vein, I will talk a little later about some other off-season brews of interest.

Summer Season Quaffing

 As can be expected, the exuberant playground of craft beer making has produced numerous easy-drinking, light & refreshing summer beers, many of which are of the Hefeweizen style. In my newbness, I just recently encountered Hefeweizens with Howe Sound's King Heffy being my introduction to the style. At the time, of course, I was not aware that the signature characteristic of a hefeweizen is the clove and banana flavor created by the hefe yeast (heh heh. 'hefe' is German for yeast). Hefeweizens are also generally unfiltered resulting in a cloudiness in the beer. The hefeweizens I have sampled — King Heffy, Weihenstephaner's Hefe Weissbier, Granville Island's Robson St. Hefewiezen, and Alley Kat's recently released White Tail Hefeweizen — have all been light, refreshing and very drinkable. I found King Heffy to be so fun with an "over-the-top" hefeweizen flavour (like cotton candy at Capital Ex) that I thoroughly enjoyed, but for an evening's session, I'd probably go with Alley Kat's Hefe.

And what of fruit beers? These are a year round favorite but particularly awesome for hot summer days or any time deck-time. Is there any craft house that doesn't make a fruit beer? Quebec's McAuslan brewery introduced the new St-Ambroise Framboise to their fruit beer offering along side their favored year-round, St-Ambroise Abricot. Alley Kat's seasonal (don't know how long we'll be able to get at this awesome brew), Brewberry Blueberry Ale, complements their old standard, Aprikat (??? such a low rating ??? I'd give it 80 minimum). And of course, there is always the varied line of excellent Belgian fruit beers — any of the Lindeman's lambics, Leifman's and Floris products.

And ciders?! Any pub goers will be familiar with Magners Irish Cider & Bulmer's Irish Cider. Samuel Smith's Organic Cider is also from the UK. Then there is Little Creatures Pipsqueak Cider from Australia. Canada's Okanagan Cider Company makes a full line of Okanagan Premium fruit "ciders" (list of Okanagan Premium products available to us). And there are some top shelf ciders (wull, that's where I keep 'em :) from Quebec's Michel Jodoin that are SO delish (list of Michel Jodoin ciders). Is there any question that ice cold ciders are a summer refresher?

Last but not least, what about Crabbies Ginger Beer? This stuff is in a universe of it's own when it comes to refreshing, addictive summer quaffing. A lot of clients are simply buying it by the case just like a 12 pack of beer. If you haven't tried it, do! Oh! Just arrived is the Royal Jamaican Ginger Beer. This is an alcoholized form of the ginger beer I was used to as a kid with a ginger-true sharpness that burns the back of your throat! Ahhhhhh! Summers at the lake <drift off into a retrospective montage...>!

Off-season Quaffing

I've done a catastophic disservice to the summer quaffing offerrings so I feel the list of off-season products is most accurately summed up in two words: "Everything Else." :D Yep, of course everything else is game in this group, but because my thots go to cooling evenings and night times of quiet, warm conversations with good friends, I'm still excited about the big, rich, full-bodied beers. Hence, here's my list of current favorites:

1. The aforementioned Fish Brewing Reel 10² is right up there at the top. A hoppy (100 IBU) barley wine! Incroyable!!! We have 2010s in stock so they've been cellared for you fo nearly a year. :-)
2. Shmaltz Brewing Coney Island Human Blockhead. According to Smaltz, this is a barley wine inspired brew (the label on the bottle says it's a Lager) to which I would give a 110/100 rating.
3. BrewDog's Tokyo. An Imperial Stout thou sayest?! Not like any I've ever tasted! This is one huge beer with a big ABV (18.2%) and, theoretically, big IBUs (90). I didn't notice the hops over the sweetness of the brew. Totally another barley winer to me...I bought six.
4. Les Trois Mousquetaires' Impérial Weizen Grande Cuvée. Yikes! Another really big beer. Is that 'Weizen' in its name? Well, it's definitely bigger than the wheat beers I've had, and my recollection is that it is also unfiltered. One of the RateBeer reviewers accurately (IMHO) says, "Drinks like an aged belgian strong ale. I'd be hard pressed to identify this as a weisse — imperial or not. Super easy to drink."

You see? There is no end of amazing craftiness to be had this summer. :D ENJOY!

Chris the Beer Blogger
from Das Cooler