Summerfest: Much more than just Saison

This passed weekend I had the opportunity to volunteer at Drink Craft Beer’s Summerfest. You may have seen me, I was passing out cups at the entrance during both sessions on Saturday.

Keeper of the Cups

From a volunteer's perspective I have to give a major thanks to Jeff and Devon and Jeff Lawrence for making it one of my favorites. I think it was the simple instruction to, “keep the brewers happy,” that made it such a great success.  Happy brewers make for happy patrons and happy patrons make for happy volunteers, so everyone wins!

Between handing out cups, emptying buckets and lugging ice, I had the chance to sample a few beers that have been on my list for a while, as well as a couple beers brewed specifically for the festival. Here are a few standouts:

#1.  Harpoon Saison. Brewed specifically for Summerfest with bananas, grapefruit and oranges, each of these ingredients added to the already fruity/citrusy Saison. I went back to try this one again later in the evening just to make sure I loved it…yup, I did.

#2. Night Shift Rose Au Poivre and Viva Habanera. Both of these beers were unique in their use of special ingredients. Rose Au Poivre is brewed with rosemary and aged on red peppercorns, which are both quite prominent in the flavor and Viva Habanera employs chili peppers, which provide flavor as well as a mild heat. Each time I try a new Night Shift beer I can’t help but think about pairing it with food.

#3 Pretty Things Meadowlark IPA. What else can I say that hasn’t already been said about this magnificent specimen of an IPA?  You’ll die and think you went to Citra heaven. Flavorful, juicy, Citra hops attack the palate with a monsoon of tropical fruit and citrusy flavors. I need to find bottles of this as soon as possible.

#4 Slumbrew Rising Sun. A little-known and under-produced style, Slumbrew’s take on German Dampfbier employs the same wheat beer yeast as their Happy Sol. Caramel malty with hints of earthy hops and subtle toastiness, man, am I a sucker for obscure styles!

Leftovers.

At the end of the night the stage at the Armory was filled with pizza and Idle Hands and Night Shift opened their taps to the volunteers.  Cleanup was pretty quick with a lot of the staff remaining and I think I managed to get home well before midnight. I’d say “I can wait for next year,” but I hope Jeff and Devon don’t wait that long to host another festival…Winterfest anyone?

Summer Beer Round-Up #8 and #9: Bell's Oberon and Great Lakes The Wright Pils

Now that summer is upon us it's time to start drinking autumn beer! Just kidding, but I'm not too far off. I'm sure you'll see Sam Adams Octoberfest by mid-August or even sooner. But that isn't going to stop me from drinking seasonally and on a resent trip to the lovely state of North Carolina I was able to indulge in a few "out-of-market" brands from two of the nation's larger better beer brewers.

Number 8 and number 9 in this series are Bell's Oberon and Great Lakes The Wright Pils. These two Midwest breweries are quite prolific, just not in New England...

Oberon pours a golden yellow with a lively white head. Slightly hazy with hints of mild peppery spice and citrus. Very slightly tart with some lemon pith-like hops and a pleasantly grassy finish. I drank this one after unloading a moving truck in near 100 degree heat, so I might be slightly biased as to the refreshing nature of the beverage, but it cannot be overstated that it provided said refreshment while delivering fragrant and flavorsome hop characteristics.


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The joke I made at the time (mostly to myself) while drinking Great Lakes The Wright Pils was, "is there a wrong Pils?" If there is you'll not find it in this beer. I deeply respect brewers who produce Lagers, mostly because it shows me that they're willing to tie up a fermentation tank for a longer period of time to brew the beer that they want. The Wright Pils is a Bohemian or Czech style Pilsener with a prominent noble hop character, slightly spicy, herbal with a rounded earthiness. The overall effect is crisp, drinkable with a slightly grainy finish.


Once again, I'm glad to have sample two fine out-of-market products. These two beers are great examples of summer brews at their finest.

Summer Beer Round-Up #7: Baxter Celsius Summer Ale

The daiquiri, at its best, is a simple cocktail. White rum, sugar and lime juice. It was said to have been the favorite beverage of both Ernest Hemingway and John F. Kennedy, the latter seeming somewhat odd considering the spirit inherent and its prominence in the country just 90 miles to our south.

What we find in the latest beer from Baxter Brewing Company is nothing short of beer meets daiquiri. Celsius Summer Ale is the first seasonal offering from this Lewiston, Maine brewery, specializing in canned beer. If this beer reminded me of a daiquiri it was because of several additions, notably lime and lemon peel, Kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass, each contributing a degree of citric complexity that complemented the sharp hoppiness and tang of wheat. With a touch of floral sweetness and a moderate 4.7% ABV this is a great summer seasonal and would pair perfectly with anything from grilled fish to a summer salad.

Summer Beer Round-Up #6: Wachusett Summer Ale

Firstly, special thanks to Amanda for letting me sample one of her beers for Summer Beer Round-Up #6…the glass also belongs to her. ;^)

Just off the Mohawk Trail in Westminster, Massachusetts is a brewery that has been around since 1993*. Founded by Worcester Polytechnic Institute graduates and friends Ned, Kevin and “Quinny”, Wachusett Brewing Company can be somewhat unassuming, especially with a flagship beer with a fruity twist.

How many of you have had their Blueberry Ale? Okay, how many of you have had another beer from their line-up? Yeah, that’s what I thought, but I urge you to take a closer look. This brewery produces a fantastic variety of beers and in recent years have expanded to include a number of limited release beers that have blown me away. Most notably a Milk Stout and a beer known as Larry, a 7.5% ABV Imperial IPA brewed in collaboration with the Publick House in Brookline, MA.

Wachusett Summer Ale drinks similarly to their Blueberry Ale, minus the blueberries. With just a hint of lemon and mild Noble hops the beer starts with a hit of both and ends with a sack of grain-like breadiness. Refreshing and drinkable is the name of the game when it comes to summer beers, and in Waschusett Summer, we have them both.

*Their website says 1993, but the glass says 1994. It appears the company was founded in 1993 and after some experimentation Wachusett Country Ale was introduced to the public in 1994. 

Summer Beer Round-Up #5: Jack's Abby Leisure Time Lager

As I sit here with the windows and doors open on this beautiful pre-summer New England day, I find myself sipping slowly on the newest beer in bottles from Jack’s Abby Brewing. Leisure Time Lager is named after the ice brand that the Hendler brothers’ (Jack, Eric and Sam) grandfather developed as part of the Saxony Ice Company.  While the ice company is no longer in the family, the idea of a family operated business was passed down and Jack’s Abby was born.

Leisure Time Lager is a Witbier...kinda.

Brewed with locally grown wheat and spiced in a similar manner, Leisure Time takes a few twists that plant it solely in the realm of “other.” Traditional Witbier are not normally lagered (cold-conditioned) for any length of time, rather allowing the ale yeast to develop fruity notes. This aspect is noticeably absent from Leisure Time in a crispness that holds firm through the finish. While the addition of coriander and orange peel is standard, the lemongrass and chamomile are not. The chamomile lends of lavender-like floral quality and the lemongrass enhances the citric quality already imparted by the orange peel and mild hops to refresh the palate with a trifecta of flavor.

This is not the first Jack’s Abby beer that I’ve raved about and it certainly won’t be my last. For a brewery that has only been in operations for about a year, Jack’s Abby has certainly found a place in my repertoire of superbly produced local beers and is almost never out of stock in my refrigerator.

Summer Beer Round-Up #4: New Belgium Somersault

Unfortunately, one of the nation's largest craft brewers does not distribute here in Massachusetts. Fortunately, I was visiting the West Coast and was able to sample a number of their beers including their summer seasonal.

I've talked to many expatriated individuals who are shocked to find that New Belgium Brewing does not distribute beer in New England and that their beloved Fat Tire cannot be found anywhere in Massachusetts. With the news that a second brewery is to be built in Asheville, North Carolina, I've no doubt that we'll soon see their beers gracing our shelves, but with the projected completion date sometime in 2015 we still have a few years to wait.

That's why on a recent trip to the West Coast, amidst sipping as many California beers as I could get my hands on, I drank plenty of beer from Ft. Collins, Colorado. Wading my way through their portfolio, I ultimately stumbled upon their summer seasonal. Somersault is a light and refreshing ale brewed with a base of 2-row pale malt and a touch of oats. The addition of apricot lends a tartness to the beer and a hint of ginger adds a mild spiciness that compliments the slightly citrusy centennial hops.

While on the road, where and when I can get it, New Belgium Brewing is a sure bet. I know that for some people who can get this beer any day of the week this may seem like a boring choice, but the beer is good! So I drink it, and you should too.

Summer Beer Round-Up #3: Brooklyn Summer Ale

I realize that each of the beers in this series so far has come from a can, but that’s just the nature of summer beers these days.  Good for the beach, the pool (you don’t want glass bottles anywhere near a pool deck, just ask Amanda) or hiking. They’re easy to carry in and once the liquid is imbibed, the cans are easily crushed and recycled.

The third beer in this summer beer round-up is Brooklyn Summer Ale. Again, I’m not sure why I’ve never picked up this beer before now, but it is a remarkably refreshing and flavorful beer for summer. Very dry and earthy with a slight hint of citrus (from the hops, not added citrus) and a bready graininess through the finish. This beer is a little more rounded at 5% ABV. Some summer beers clock in a little lower, but I appreciate the slightly higher alcohol content which can stand up to food a little better than its lighter counterparts.

While I have no problem with summer beers brewed with citrus fruits and other “summery” additions, it’s nice to see a warm-weather beer that stands on its own without those flourishes. Brooklyn Summer Ale is a great example of a summer beer that lets beer’s four main ingredients do their job.

Summer Beer Round-Up #2: Sixpoint Apollo

UPDATE: It has been brought to my attention that, in fact, Apollo is a Kristalweizen (a filtered Hefeweizen). This comes as a bit of a shock, as all four cans that I sampled earlier this spring appeared somewhat hazy with at least a little "hefe" in suspension. Maybe the wheat was playing tricks on me.

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This week’s summer beer comes from Sixpoint Brewery.  Their new summer seasonal comes in the form of a traditional Bavarian Hefeweizen Wheat Beer.

Sixpoint Apollo is refreshing (in more ways than one).  While I truly enjoy mashing things up a bit when it comes to traditional styles, I also find it somewhat daring for a brewery these days to release a beer that has nothing to stand between it and long tradition.

Sixpoint Apollo stands up to that tradition and does not disappoint.  It pours a cloudy, golden-yellow with a large off white head. Banana and clove are present in both aroma and flavor with an amazingly tart and refreshing quality through the finish.

Next time I pick this one up I’ll make certain to pair it with some weisswurst and mustard. Very well done.

Summer Beer Round-Up #1: Narragansett Summer Ale

Beer and summer are meant for each other. Over the next several weeks, I’ll take a look at a few summer beers that I think epitomize the relationship.

First up: Narragansett Summer Ale

First things first, who doesn’t enjoy a 16 ounce can? One full pint of beer. And the price for a six-pack is by far the best deal you’ll get on 96 ounces of crisp, refreshing beer this summer. I’m not sure why I looked passed this beer last year, but I did, so I’ve taken it upon myself to rectify this by drinking this beer weekly during the warmer months.

Brewed with 2-row pale malt and citra hops, the fizzy pour produces a lovely white cap of foam atop a golden-brilliance of effervescent liquid. Some lacing forms around the sides of the glass as the head falls into a wisp. Aroma is slightly citrusy, with hints of tropical fruit and mild grain. The flavor follows suit with plenty of hop character without being too overwhelming and licks of grain through the dryish finish.

A wonderful light summer beer at 4.2% ABV, this Blonde Ale will not be out of stock in my house until at least the middle of September…if they last that long.