From Refreshing Pale Ales, to Hazy IPAs, These Are the Best Beers to Try This Season
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As bars and breweries start to open their outdoor seating for the coming summer months, a lot of people are heading to their local drinking establishment for a cold one. But that doesn’t mean you can’t stop drinking at home — in fact, you may already have a stocked-up mini fridge and prepped a full-on home bar for special occasions (or a night in alone).
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Truth is, there’s never been a better time to try out the best beers from some of the best breweries in the country. For one, it’s now easier than ever to get local favorites, limited edition IPAs, and seasonal beers delivered straight to your door. You don’t have to worry about long lines, or nudging your way to get a space at the bar for that frosty sip. Plenty of craft breweries have upped their game with beers you can buy online — along with all the other wine, and tequila, and more you can order now.
Related: The Best Non-Alcoholic Beer, Wine and Spirits to Order Online
So if you don’t want to extend your brewmaster wings and go through the hassle of making your own at home, save the brewing for the professionals. We’ve rounded up some of the best beers to try this season, whether you crack them open at a BBQ with friends, or just from the comfort of your own home. A bonus: use our links to buy these craft beers online and have them delivered in as little as 30 minutes.
1. Fat Tire Ale
Now this is a beer that tastes as good as you can feel about drinking—New Belgium Brewing, known for their crowd-pleasing favorites such as their Voodoo Ranger and Sour IPA, are also notable for their sustainable manufacturing processes and their commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But their standout is clearly the sweet yet herbal Fat Tire (named after the co-founder’s bike drip across Europe), which was dubbed “America’s first Carbon Neutral certified beer.”
A little spicy, a little fruity, this is a well-balanced 5.2% ABV beer that is great for grilling season, since the woodsy flavor pairs so well with barbecued foods. Think of it like the rosemary roast chicken of the beer world. There’s truly something for everyone, though, whether you like a more hops-forward drink, something sour, or something fruity. For a beer with a light footprint, and a refreshingly light taste, we can choose no other than Fat Tire Ale.
Fat Tire Ale
2. BrewDog Clockwork Tangerine Citrus Session IPA
If BrewDog‘s Clockwork Tangerine was a movie, we would give it all the awards for best summertime blockbuster. The fresh, fruity, and citrus-infused flavors tick all our boxes for a solid summer beer, something you can lightly sip at the beach or crack open after a long day of yard work.
This 4.5% ABV is a stand-out IPA, considering it took the crown in Brewdog’s 2017 Prototype Challenge under the pseudonym of ‘Tangerine Session IPA’. Normally fruity beers will try to lean into the citrus by going full-on sour, or mash a bunch of tropical fruit flavors together until it feels more like a smoothie than a hard beverage. But Clockwork Tangerine has a citrus kick with mellow tropical notes, and a toasty background that rounds it all out. As with all BrewDog beers, Clockwork Tangerine is carbon negative and BrewDog removes double the CO2 it takes to make.
Brewdog Clockwork Tangerine Citrus Session IPA
3. Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing IPA
Looking for a beer that feels a little more raw, with more of an unfiltered taste? Hazy Little Thing IPA from Sierra Nevada is as low-processed as it gets, as it comes straight from the tanks and into the can for those who like it bit more au natural.
The smooth, juicy flavor of this 6.7% ABV beer is thanks to Sierra Nevada’s unique fermenting process—not only do they use grains like wheat, oats, and Munich malt for a creamier finish, they chill their fermenters at a higher temperature than normal, which gives the beer that signature “haze.” While it’s still a fruit-forward hop, it’s pretty bold, so it’s best pair with light and lean summer foods like salads, seafood, and greens like asparagus. Extremely smooth to drink, hopefully your night won’t end up as hazy as this beer.
Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing IPA
4. Narragansett Lager
This award-winning Rhode Island beer is not only incredibly sessionable, it’s packed with some of the most flavor we’ve tasted out of a premium lager. It’s won several medals from the World Beer Championship, World Beer Cup, and the Great International Beer & Cider Competition, just to name a few, with a recipe that’s stayed the same since 1890.
Okay, so then how does it taste? Clean, crisp and refreshing—it’s an “old reliable”-type lager, the gold standard. It may not have any of the fancy flavor combinations of newer craft beers, but this 5% ABV beer will deliver on smooth taste every time. Narragansett is the kind of lager you would share with a neighbor, or bring to a cookout. Speaking of which, it’s incredible versatile to boot, pairing just as well with the smoky flavors of BBQ as it does to leftover takeout.
Narragansett Lager
5. Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
This Goose Island imperial stout is as dark, dense, and full of flavor as the inside of a bourbon barrel. Which makes sense, since the brewing company used a blend of barrels from several whiskey distilleries when making this dark beer, aging it for a year to get you incredibly rich, bourbon-esque taste.
Not only is it aged like bourbon, it will hit you like bourbon too—the drink has 12.9% ABV, one of the highest levels on our list. Even if it’s a bit boozier, you can still really get all the complex flavors, and you won’t miss all the notes of chocolate, vanilla, and caramel combined with the smoky charred oak. It’s incredibly rich, the kind of beer that goes best with a hefty steak dinner. The company says as much, that “one sip has more flavor than your average case of beer.” As long as actually you slow down to taste it, we’re inclined to agree.
Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
6. Night Shift Whirlpool Pale Ale
Sometimes you don’t want to go heavy, though, especially if it’s going to be a long night: that’s where Whirlpool’s Pale Ale comes in. Whirlpool is Night Shift’s flagship New England pale ale, and for good reason—it’s a hazy blonde beer that at 4.5% ABV feels remarkably easy either sip at dinner party, or just throw back.
The flavors are explosive too, with a juicy blend of ripe peach and clementine, and it’s super vibrant as it goes down without a bitter finish. Fun fact: Night Shift’s whole brewhouse was custom-built for this beer’s unique whirlpool brewing process, which allows for an generous generous dry-hopping process. It’s also fairly soft, and would pair well with a good cheese board, thanks to the combo brew of wheat and oats used. An all-time favorite, Whirlpool gives you bright flavors that won’t leave you spinning at the end of the night.
Night Shift Whirlpool Pale Ale
7. Sippin’ Pretty Sour Ale
Get ready to pucker up with Sippin’ Pretty, which the brand says is “more of a mantra than a beer”. We’re inclined to agree, especially with their Fruited Sour Ale, which turned this reviewer into a true sour beer believer. The flavor really pops with a unique blend of açai, guava, and elderberry, which gives it a fresh and juicy taste that stands out from other sours that make you feel like you’ve just spent a bad night in Margaritaville.
Balance here key, with a delicate touch of Himalayan pink sea salt rounding out the palette with a nice depth. This might be blasphemy, but Fruited Sour is definitely meant to be poured out of the can and admired in a goblet or stange glass — the bright ruby color definitely makes it a looker. The refreshing tart finish makes it pair well with the briny taste of oysters, clams and mussels, so it’s a real summertime or bayside treat. With a fruity, sour sip that never out stays its welcome, Sippin’ Pretty is easy on the eyes and the palette.
Sippin’ Pretty Fruited Sour
7. Dos Equis Lime & Salt ZERO
You may already know Dos Equis, the cerveza-maker behind one of the most iconic lagers in the world. But they’ve used all the same knowledge and brewing secrets to whip up a satisfying non-alcoholic take on their flagship Lime & Salt flavor that won’t leave you disappointed.
This is a full-flavored sour with low ABV (around 0.5%), with a spin on the classic, smooth-tasting Mexican cerveza. It’s got a good, crisp flavor, with hints of citrus, so you can really pair it with most proteins, although it’s a little lighter than the average non-alcoholic bevvy. In fact, when we taste tested it against the original Lime & Salt flavor, it was hard to tell an obvious difference (there’s still an aftertaste of “wheatiness” similar to most NA beers, but it’s much milder here than any we’ve tasted before). Dos Equis is as no-frills and accessible as it gets for a non-alcoholic beer, especially if you’re looking for the most sessionable sip possible.
Dos Equis Lime & Salt ZERO
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