We all love beer right? Duh. I know that I love a whole bunch of different varieties of beer, but not all of them hit the spot on a summer day.

Beers of Summer

Whether you’re cooling down after cutting the grass, chillin on your boat, catching some rays on the beach, or tailgating in a parking lot before a baseball game, odds are one of the following craft beers will quench your thirst.

• Anchor Summer
• Dogfish Head Aprihop IPA
• Clipper City Heavy Seas Small Craft Warning
• Saison Dupont Vieille Provision
• Tripel Karmeliet
• Victory Prima Pils
• Pyramid Apricot Weizen
• Hoegaarden Belgian White
• Ommegang Hennepin
• Dogfish Head Festina Peche

A Step Further

Now let’s take things a little further…The following are some commercial descriptions on the 10 previously mentioned beers. I already like all of these beers, hopefully these descriptions will encourage you to give them all a shot…

Anchor Summer

“Anchor Summer is an all-malt beer, and over 50% of its malt comes from malted wheat. It is fermented with a Triticum aestivum, AKA wheat traditional top-fermenting “ale” yeast because we prefer the clean flavors developed by this yeast. We believe that this style best celebrates the refreshingly light flavor of malted wheat. You may notice that the head on this beer is unusually abundant, with a consistency similar to whipped egg whites. This is due to protein contributed by the wheat.”

» Anchor Brewing Company - AnchorBrewing.com.

Dogfish Head Aprihop IPA

“A strong IPA brewed with real apricots and finished with whole leaf Willamette and Cascade hops.”
“Brewed with luscious apricots, finished with whole-leaf hops. A ‘fruit beer for hop heads…’” Ale Street News
“7% abv. 55 ibu. Tasting Notes: Fruity, citrusy, cedar, thirst-quenching. Food Pairing recommendations: Salads, swordfish, Mexican dishes, barbeque, hummus. Glassware recommendation: Pint. In case you care… the average 12 oz. serving has approx. 240 calories.”

» Dogfish Head Brewery - Dogfish.com.

Clipper City Heavy Seas Small Craft Warning

“Malts: German Pils and Carapils. Hops: Amarillo, Saaz, Hersbrucker and Tettnang. We call this beer an Uber Pils - a pilsner style bock lager. Rich, malty, and well rounded but with a firm structure of noble hops. Surprisingly pale in color for such a powerful, complex beer.”

» Clipper City Brewery - ClipperCityBeer.com.

Saison Dupont Vieille Provision

“Saison Dupont is a classic Belgian farmhouse ale. This is a beautifully balanced, complex beer that has a refreshing fruitiness and long, dry finish. It is bottled unfiltered so it may be cloudy or have a slight sediment but this is normal and perfectly natural.”

» Saison Dupont (Brasserie Dupont) - Brasserie-Dupont.com.

Tripel Karmeliet

“Blond, robust, smooth, and fruity three grain top fermented beer, refermented in the bottle. Brewed with pride and patience after Karmeliet tradition with wheat, oat and barley. 100% natural. Has been brewed at Van Steenberge for Brewery Bosteels for some time until recently.”

» Tripel Karmeliet (Bosteels) - BestBelgianSpecialBeers.be.

Victory Prima Pils

“Heaps o’ hops are hiding under the full, frothy head of this elegant Pils. All German malt subtleties linger beneath a long dry finish of this classy quencher.”

» Check out Victory Brewing Company at VictoryBeer.com.

Pyramid Apricot Weizen

“Brewed by the original Wheat Beer Pioneers, Pyramid Apricot Weizen Ale is left unfiltered for extra flavor and aroma. The gold medalist of fruit beers, Pyramid Apricot Weizen is an adventurous wheat ale that offers the pleasing aroma and flavor of fresh apricots, and smooth and refreshing character for which our wheat beers are known.”

» Pyramid Brewery - PyramidBrew.com.

Hoegaarden Belgian White

“Unfiltered Belgian White, flavored with coriander and orange peel, creating a sweet & sour taste.”

» Brouwerij Hoegaarden (InBev) - InBev.com.

Ommegang Hennepin

“This hoppy, farmhouse style ale has a champagne like effervescence with a crisp but light on the tongue finish. Similar to the Belgian Saison style , this beer serves well as an aperitif. Hennepin has a majestic golden hue. The style is called Grisette or farm house and is considered to be in the domain of the Belgian Saisons.”

» Brewery Ommegang - Ommegang.com.

Dogfish Head Festina Peche

“A refreshing neo-Berliner Weisse fermented with peaches. Food Pairing recommendations: Grilled chicken or fish, salad. Glassware recommendation: Pint. Wine comparable: Pinot Grigio”

» Dogfish Head Brewery - Dogfish.com.

Final Thoughts

Some of these beers may not be rated very highly according to some critics, but I believe they’re all good fits for the summer. The average beer drinker will probably love the beers with low ratings - to each his own.

SPEAK UP: If you know of any great lawn mower or session beers then let me know. There are a few other craft brews I thought of that I didn’t want to include on this list. This is because I want to see what other people drink during the some months! For instance, what do you think about these summery beers: Pete’s Strawberry Blond, Magic Hat #9, Magic Hat Hocus Pocus, and Sam Adams Light. Let’s hear it!

NOTE: The majority of the commercial descriptions are taken from RateBeer.com or from brewery websites. Please, no lawsuits.