Technically it is now the 3rd day of summer, so I am a little bit behind on this post (I meant to post this on the first day of summer), but I suppose it is better late than never. Without any further ado, here is my list of 10 must have summer beers!
# 10: New Belgium Brewing - Rolle Bolle or as I call it "Fat Tire with a Twist", it is very similar to Fat Tire, but with a citrus (orangy) twist.
#9: Left Hand Brewing Company - Polestar Pilsner I first tries this beer when I grabbed one from the 'mix and match' section of my favorite liquor store. A Pilsner is a type of Lager (like you know Bud, Coors and all those beers), but it has a bit of a kick to it (it's just a little hoppy) and although I am not generally a fan of hoppy beers that kick sets it apart from the other lager type beers.
#8: New Belgium - Fat Tire. Fat Tire has always said summer to me, when I was in college I used to work at a rafting company during the summer and Fat Tire was the beer of choice for most of the rafting industry, and my introduction to craft beer (if you haven't read it yet, you can read my full post on Fat Tire -Beer, It's A Love Story - here).
#7: Bristol Brewing Co. - Yellow Kite Summer Pils (available April - October) I first tried this beer at The Colorado Brewers Guild's Brewer's Rendezvous (my favorite must attend beer festival). I love this beer,it is one of the seasonal beers I can't wait to get my hands on as soon as 'spring' hits.
#6: Bristol Brewing - Beehive Honey Wheat. Apparently Bristol Brewing has the summer beer thing figured out (and beer in general, they are one of my favorite craft brewers). Instead of rewriting what I already wrote, you can read what I posted about Beehive here.
#5: Elevation Beer Co. - Apis IV I know, I know it looks too dark to be a 'Summer Beer' (at least to me, because I usually think light beers when I think of summer beer), but it is actually similar to Bristol Brewing's Beehive, and again, if you want to read more, you can read my post here.
#4: Amica's - Bomber Blonde Ale. Bomber Blonde Ale is light and has just a hint of a fruity taste, but not an overwhelming fruity taste, because if you follow this blog you probably know that I have an aversion to fruity beers (I may be a girl, but that's a little too girly, even for me). It's a great beer for summer, and day drinking (as I mentioned in my post here)!
Now for my top 3 summer beers and believe me it' was tough to figure out what order to put these in, but here they are.
#3: Breckenridge Brewery - SummerBright Ale. If Fat Tire was my introduction to craft beer, SummerBright Ale was the beer that cemented my undying love of craft beer. This is a summer beer for everyone, even the 'non-beer-snobs', this is even the one and only craft beer that my brother will drink (and he is a guy who only drinks Corona and Coors). I have read some reviews that say it is too watery, but for me it is one of the best summer beers!
#2. Asher Brewing - Treehugger Organic Amber. When I first tried this beer a couple of summers ago, it was the first beer in a very long time that just made me say, wow! It is a slightly sweet amber ale, which was so good that I forgot to take pictures when I was at the brewery. But, this is not only a great summer beer, but as of right now my favorite beer. (So, sad I can't get it here, but next trip I make to Boulder, I will definitely be picking up a growler - or two)
#1: San Luis Valley Brewing Co. - Valle Especial. Valle Especial is a Mexican Lager, you know, like Corona, which is why I rated this as my number one summer beer pick. Corona always has been and always will be the first beer that I grab for relaxing on a hot summer day, the Valle Especial is very similar to Corona, but made in Colorado! Honestly, there is nothing better in the summer than an ice cold beer with a slice of lime.
# 10: New Belgium Brewing - Rolle Bolle or as I call it "Fat Tire with a Twist", it is very similar to Fat Tire, but with a citrus (orangy) twist.
#9: Left Hand Brewing Company - Polestar Pilsner I first tries this beer when I grabbed one from the 'mix and match' section of my favorite liquor store. A Pilsner is a type of Lager (like you know Bud, Coors and all those beers), but it has a bit of a kick to it (it's just a little hoppy) and although I am not generally a fan of hoppy beers that kick sets it apart from the other lager type beers.
#8: New Belgium - Fat Tire. Fat Tire has always said summer to me, when I was in college I used to work at a rafting company during the summer and Fat Tire was the beer of choice for most of the rafting industry, and my introduction to craft beer (if you haven't read it yet, you can read my full post on Fat Tire -Beer, It's A Love Story - here).
#7: Bristol Brewing Co. - Yellow Kite Summer Pils (available April - October) I first tried this beer at The Colorado Brewers Guild's Brewer's Rendezvous (my favorite must attend beer festival). I love this beer,it is one of the seasonal beers I can't wait to get my hands on as soon as 'spring' hits.
#6: Bristol Brewing - Beehive Honey Wheat. Apparently Bristol Brewing has the summer beer thing figured out (and beer in general, they are one of my favorite craft brewers). Instead of rewriting what I already wrote, you can read what I posted about Beehive here.
#5: Elevation Beer Co. - Apis IV I know, I know it looks too dark to be a 'Summer Beer' (at least to me, because I usually think light beers when I think of summer beer), but it is actually similar to Bristol Brewing's Beehive, and again, if you want to read more, you can read my post here.
#4: Amica's - Bomber Blonde Ale. Bomber Blonde Ale is light and has just a hint of a fruity taste, but not an overwhelming fruity taste, because if you follow this blog you probably know that I have an aversion to fruity beers (I may be a girl, but that's a little too girly, even for me). It's a great beer for summer, and day drinking (as I mentioned in my post here)!
Now for my top 3 summer beers and believe me it' was tough to figure out what order to put these in, but here they are.
#3: Breckenridge Brewery - SummerBright Ale. If Fat Tire was my introduction to craft beer, SummerBright Ale was the beer that cemented my undying love of craft beer. This is a summer beer for everyone, even the 'non-beer-snobs', this is even the one and only craft beer that my brother will drink (and he is a guy who only drinks Corona and Coors). I have read some reviews that say it is too watery, but for me it is one of the best summer beers!
#2. Asher Brewing - Treehugger Organic Amber. When I first tried this beer a couple of summers ago, it was the first beer in a very long time that just made me say, wow! It is a slightly sweet amber ale, which was so good that I forgot to take pictures when I was at the brewery. But, this is not only a great summer beer, but as of right now my favorite beer. (So, sad I can't get it here, but next trip I make to Boulder, I will definitely be picking up a growler - or two)
#1: San Luis Valley Brewing Co. - Valle Especial. Valle Especial is a Mexican Lager, you know, like Corona, which is why I rated this as my number one summer beer pick. Corona always has been and always will be the first beer that I grab for relaxing on a hot summer day, the Valle Especial is very similar to Corona, but made in Colorado! Honestly, there is nothing better in the summer than an ice cold beer with a slice of lime.
