Now Beer This: What You Should Be Drinking

As resident beer expert, I often get the question, “Hey, Jeff *burp* — what fantastic beer experiences should I be seeking out at this moment in time?” Fortunately, I almost always have a well-informed response!

This past month I’ve really enjoyed these three beers, which all have one thing in common – they’re refreshing hot-weather beers! With the exception of a few days of weirdly cool Seattle-like weather, we’ve gotten hot and steamy here in Chapelboro and it will continue to be hot and steamy for months ahead. So seek out these three bevs and let me know what you think!

Triple Hop’d Lager – Sierra Nevada/Bitburger

You had me at Sierra Nevada. Can they make a bad beer? I’m pretty sure it’s impossible. On this occasion they’ve teamed up with renowned German brewery Bitburger for this fantastic hoppy lager. You probably know how I feel about the hoppy lager trend, but I’ll remind you – seven thumbs up! If I had that many thumbs, I would totally raise ’em. With this offering, you get the crisp refreshing light maltiness of a typical lager with fruity American hops to take you on a tropical mental vacation. Can’t go wrong with this guy next to the pool, so get it.

First Cut Mango IPA – Troegs

Just a touch of mango adds a lot of fruit character to this beer. No, this isn’t a Radler, so calm down. There is a time and a place for fruit juice/beer cocktails, so yay for them, but that’s not what this is. This IPA is like a dreamy Emilio Estevez circa 1985, showing up in his fancy grey tuxedo with magenta cummerbund, ready to take you to prom, while the mango is his sensitive, thoughtful boutonniere. The mango doesn’t steal the show, but it sure does make it something special.

Citra Pale Ale – Starpoint Brewing 

If you know me, you know how I feel about Maris Otter. It is the prince of malted barley and I use it nearly exclusively in my homebrewing. It’s more expensive than the American two-row that most brewers use, but to me it’s worth it. It imparts a hardier, slightly nutty backdrop to beers that I think just can’t be beaten. Also, if you know me, you know how I feel about Citra hops… they’re one of my faves. In fact, my base IPA that I make all the time is a Maris Otter Citra and Centennial IPA, so you can imagine that I was intrigued to try a commercial beer that mimics almost precisely that format. And I wasn’t disappointed. Heirloom British malt character with super-citrusy American hops is a winning combination. Coming in a can with its fruitiness and relatively low ABV (5.2%) it’s also a fantastic pool beer. Get it!

Hope you can find some or all of these. But if you can’t, blame me because I probably bought them all. Cheers!

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