an ode to summer beers.

Summer is my favourite season for so many reasons.

The lake.

The road trips.

The weather.

The beer.

Ahh. The beer.

Summer beer is the best beer. It’s full of delicious fruit and pleasant tartness and all the good things. Fall beer is too pumpkin-y for my taste, and winter beer is thick and full of sadness. Spring beer doesn’t exist – beers go straight from winter to summer. And that’s fine with me.

Let’s start at the beginning, though. I was 24 years old before I learned to like beer. And I LEARNED. I was so tired of going to places where everyone around me drank beer and I was the asshole ordering a Tequila Sunrise. Or worse, a Sex on the Beach.

(caption: I felt like an idiot ordering that as a young twenty-something, so I had to do something before I got any older.)

Plus? It’s way cheaper to drink beer.

So I set out to learn to like beer. The swill my constituents drank (ie Hamm’s) would not do. The beer that taught me to tolerate beer was Leinenkugel’s Honey Weiss.

But the beer that taught me to LOVE beer was Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy.

It's good even in blizzards.

 This magic lemony goodness was the gateway. From there, the beer just flowed.

It’s been eight years since Summer Shandy showed me the way, and I am here to tell you about some of the best beers I’ve had, this bountiful summer of 2019. Between the final semester of grad school and a trip to Europe, I’ve had PLENTY of beer this summer.

Ölvisholt XI Pink Ale

brewed in Selfoss, Iceland

I’m going to be very cruel to you and tell you about a beer you can only get in Iceland. During our trip to Iceland, we spent two of our three nights in the same bar (which served only Icelandic beer). The first night, I had Ölvisholt’s Freyja (a Norse goddess who rides around on a chariot pulled by cats) witbier and a bit of the Skaði farmhouse ale. 

The next night, I had the BEST beer of the entire trip (which included Denmark and Germany): Ölvisholt XI Pink Ale. It had the most wonderful light raspberry flavor with a lovely hazy pink colour. It’s worth going back to Iceland just for this beer.

Odell Sippin’ Pretty

brewed in Fort Collins, Colorado

And then… I had to go back to the US. But there were plenty of delicious beers waiting for me here. I’ve been on a sour beer kick all spring and summer, and this one did not disappoint. First of all, the can is beautiful. The beer itself is so lovely and pink (look out for all the pink beers on this list), and it’s got the craziest stuff in it: açai, guava, elderberry, and Himalayan pink sea salt. It’s not too sweet and has just the right amount of sour.

Founders Rübæus

brewed in Grand Rapids, Michigan

This is the only one of which I neglected to take my own picture. Damn.

I was introduced to this beer at a place in Sioux Falls called the Source, where you tap your own beer and pay by the ounce. This is a raspberry ale which is – you guessed it – pink. It’s super refreshing and smooth and has that nice tartness I like in my fruit beers to balance out the sweet.

Liftbridge Mango Blonde

brewed in Stillwater, Minnesota

James and I stumbled across this beer in a tiny liquor store in Cambridge, Minnesota a couple of summers ago. We were looking for some kind of light and delicious beer to take river tubing with us, and this was exactly everything we wanted. It is the absolute perfect beer for lazing down the river. It’s light and malty and oh so smooth. James and I couldn’t find it ANYWHERE until this summer, when it showed up in another tiny liquor store in Albert Lea. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, after all.

New Belgium Passion Fruit Kölsch

brewed in Fort Collins, Colorado

It's the one on the pizza box.

This beer had me at kölsh. There aren’t a ton of kölshs, so I’ll try anything I can find. The second you open the can, you get this amazing smell of sweet passion fruit. This is a borderline sour, so it’s not too tart or too sweet – tangy, perhaps. New Belgium advertises it as “crushable,” which I guess is true, but I prefer to savor. This one is best out of a tap in a chilled glass on a patio. But aren’t all beers?

Surly Grapefruit Supreme

brewed in Minneapolis, Minnesota

That's my cousin Taylor in the background. :)

I first had this beer just weeks ago when my sister ordered it at Skinner’s in Brookings. My sister ordered it, and I had a sip – and I was sold. I like good grapefruit flavour (see Schell’s Shocked), and this is so crisp and refreshing. Surly also describes this as “crushable,” which I didn’t really realize was a far-reaching beer term until now. I feel like an old person just typing “crushable,” like when people my age try to use teenage slang. So this is where me using the word “crushable” ends.

Schell’s Sangria

brewed in New Ulm, Minnesota

You’re probably going to mock me for this one, but I’m ok with it. This is far and away the sweetest beer on this list, and I would absolutely not drink more than one at a time. This is a red citrus lager, the last pink beer on my list. I have a soft spot for Schell’s, as it’s the first brewery I ever visited as an enthusiastic beer drinker. So whatever Schell’s makes, I’m going to try it. Honorable mentions go to Schell’s Shocked (grapefruit radler) and Goosetown (gose). The sangria takes the cake for beach drinkability.

You may have noticed that Minnesota beers dominate this list. As a loyal Minnesotan, I’ll make an extra effort to try what Minnesota breweries have to offer. And they’ve done me proud this summer.

There are some beers I've tried this summer that certainly deserve an honorable mention.

anything Take 16

Obviously. Luverne loyalty.

Viking Summer Ale

That's Kim in Iceland!

Left Hand Brewing Flamingo Dreams Nitro

You guessed it: this beer is pink.

Remedy Queen Bee

Celebrating our last grad school class weekend!

Boulevard Radler

This is the first summer I've seen radlers in cans. It's awesome.

Malbygg Ribbit (mango sour) 

Icelandic sour. Perfection.

María Witbier

Icelandic again.

Eponymous mango something

I can't remember what it's called, but it's GOOD.

any variety of German radlers and hefeweizens

Especially that first one on the first night.

So if you find any of those, DEFINITELY drink them.

I’ve given you seven delicious summer beers for you to get your hands on before we move into pumpkin-flavoured everything. But I feel it’s my duty to alert you of the WORST beer I’ve had this summer.

Natural Light Naturdays.

I know what you’re going to say:

Would you expect ANYTHING by Natural Light to be good?

No.

But this is worse than you think it is.

I tried JUST A SIP of someone else’s this summer, and it was enough to give me gut rot for the better part of the next hour. It’s the disgusting Natural Light you know and love, plus the sugary horror of strawberry lemonade. Just thinking about it makes me want to brush my teeth. For the love of God, take my word for it. Stay away from this can of skunky sugar water like it’s the plague.

Enough about that. There are so many great beers out there that I have overlooked or haven’t had the pleasure of trying yet, so please – go forth and try ALL THE BEER.

Except Naturdays.