At the beginning of the week I wrote, “Style? There is no style, other than the loose guidelines I laid out above.” This isn’t exactly true; it depends on what style guidelines you follow (if indeed you follow any). If you go looking among the BJCP styles, you won’t find a “Summer Ale” among them anywhere. Nor will you find a “Summer” style on RateBeer or BeerAdvocate (the more liberal of the two when it … Continue reading →
This year Widmer debuted a new seasonal summer beer: Sunburn. It’s a true session beer at 4.3% alcohol by volume, and they’ve loaded it up with Citra hops: the relatively new variety that’s all about the tropical fruit. Here’s their summary description: Sunburn Summer Brew is a very smooth, refreshing, sessionable ale. Sunburn is light in color, body, and bitterness, but by no means light in flavor. Sunburn’s point of differentiation is that it delivers … Continue reading →
When we visited the Pelican Pub & Brewery back during Memorial Day, I picked up a couple of bottles to bring home: the 2010 Saison du Pelican, and (thinking ahead to this week, actually) the Surfer’s Summer Ale. Here’s their description: The Summer Ales of England inspire our well-loved seasonal beer, Surfer’s Summer Ale. With a brilliant gold color, and a fruity, floral, and herbal aroma from Glacier hops, Surfer’s Summer Ale is a refreshing, … Continue reading →
The final full week of June is the 21st through the 25th, and for this month’s Theme Week here at The Brew Site I’m going to be drinking and writing about Summer Ales to welcome in the first (official) week of summer. Of course, many breweries have already released their seasonal summer beers (some earlier than others), so there is already a plethora of beers to pick from. Plus, I might throw in some beers … Continue reading →
