What Makes A Good Summer Beer?

Since the weather has really heated up these past few weeks, I’ve been thinking of good beers to drink in the summertime.  There’s just nothing quite like drinking a cold beer on a hot summer day.  Fortunately this season also brings special summertime brews giving beer lovers an even greater selection to choose from.

The addition of seasonal summer beers brings up the question: What makes a good summer beer?

A good summer beer is light, both in color and the body.  Summer brews are thirst quenching and full of flavor and aroma.  Typically summer beers are pale ales, Pilsner, and Weissbier.

Pale ales are amber to copper colored and brewed mostly with pale malts.  Pale ales have a malty profile that is balanced with hops.

Pilsners are very fragrant, complex and have a light sweetness to their flavor.  The Pilsner is a well-hopped beer, but does not have the bitterness that other beers tend to have.

Weissbier is a German word that refers to variety of wheat beers.  Three main Weissbiers are Berliner Weisse, the Witbier from Belgium, and American Wheat Beers (Hefeweizen).  Weissbiers are unfiltered and are actually ales since they are brewed with top-fermenting yeast.  They have a pale color and “weisse” actually means “white” which is why they are sometimes referred to as “white beers.”

The Berliner Weisse has low alcohol content and is brewed exclusively in the Berlin, Germany area.  It has a sour flavor so it is served with sweet syrup to help balance the tanginess.

The Belgian Witbier is a brew from Belgium.  Witbiers have a crisp taste that is accented with orange zest and coriander and different spices or herbs.

American Wheat Beers include Hefeweizens.  Hefe refers to yeast and Weizen refers to wheat.  Hefeweizens are brewed with a majority of malted wheat and some malted barley.  They are pale colored and have a refreshingly crisp flavor.  Hefeweizens have high carbonation which is meant to balance the malt sweetness.

To find a good summer beer, it’s a great idea to taste a variety of beers including the seasonal summer brews.  You can read more about summer beers on NewsMiner and MSNBC.

(photo credit: stevendpolo)

July 24th, 2009 by Catherine Anne Alipio | Posted in General, Great Brews, Seasonal Brews | (1)