5 Best Summer Beers - Best Products Online

A hot summer day is best spent with a cold drink in your hand. When you need to cool off, or just have a good time, there are a few things that can both keep you hydrated and help you endure the heat. You can choose a tall glass of iced tea, lemonade, or water.

But let’s be honest, summer is a lot cooler with perfectly cold beer!

There are many beers available in the market – from dark malt to white pilsner. Beer is a staple in American get-togethers. Summer is a particularly special season for many local and international breweries. During summer, the beer section in your favorite supermarket is stocked with refreshing, citrusy brews. And if you are looking for a detailed ranking of the 5 best summer beers, this list has you covered. We are determined to keep you feeling refreshed all summer long!

This list covers summer beers with varying alcohol by volume content or ABV. We can assure you one thing, you can find all these beers on every shelf in America. When you’re out on the beach relaxing on your hammock or enjoying the feel of the sand on your feet, a refreshing cold drink makes everything better. Even in simple weekend BBQs with family, friends and loved ones, these beers will bring a fresh kick to the gathering. After all, a good drink almost always brings us closer. Best of all, they make the heat more bearable and can easily become the “star” of the afternoon.

After all, the very idea behind beer chugging is taking in as much pleasure and joy as you possibly can.

Understanding Beer Types and Styles

As you decide to try more beers, you familiarize the different types and styles. There is no hard and fast rule in brewing beers. With the positive consumer response to craft beers, breweries are constantly on their toes, experimenting and putting in the work to achieve higher quality beers.

For us to better understand the art and science behind brewing, we should go back to basics.

Basically, there are two traditional types of beer: ales and lagers. There is a third type, hybrids.

What is Ale?

Ales are a type of beer that is brewed at a higher temperature. The temperature produces esters, which gives ales their fruitier and fuller flavor than lagers. Ales are generally darker and have a smoother finish.

What is Lager?

Lagers are brewed at lower temperatures and usually stored in near zero degrees conditions. Storage may take up to a month or longer. This type has lighter flavor creating a crisp, refreshing, and smooth–exactly how lagers are like.

What is Hybrid?

Hybrid beer type is produced by combining ale yeasts with brewing techniques used to produce lagers and vice versa.

Styles of Beer

There are hundreds of different beer styles available in the market today. Quite frankly, we cannot account for each one, so we have listed the most common styles.

Pale Ale

Light, very aromatic American-type beer with a crisp finish and fruity body.

Wit

Wheat ale, originated in Belgium, with hints of citrus and fruity flavor.

Dubbel

Dark, rich, and malty Belgian-type ale. Usually caramel flavored, with a smooth body.

Pilsner

Strong finish with prominent hops flavor. A type of lager originated in Pilsen, Czech Republic.

Porter

A dark almost black ale, with heavy malt flavor. Features chocolate flavor, caramel or licorice.

Amber Ale

A type of ale with malty flavor with an amber red coloring for red appearance.

Methodology

If you are intent on finding the perfect summer beer to take the heat off, take a look at this list!

First, let’s discuss the rating system. We have dedicated enough time for research to eventually come up with a list of the 5 best summer bears. Of course, we have consulted several professional reviews to fact-check all information. Our scoring system is based on the beer’s Appearance, Aroma, Flavor, Mouthfeel and Finish, and Alcohol By Volume (ABV). Each individual attribute is given a star rating between to . An overall rating is also given to each of these beers, the highest being (5/5).

Evaluating beer is an art that requires much consideration. Every time we take a drink, we try to evaluate how it tastes, how it feels to the tongue, and in some cases, how bitter it tastes. Arguably, all these make your beer drinking experience more unique and exciting.

Appearance

Sight is an indispensable sense and enables people to form their first impressions. How your glass of beer looks is an important aspect of beer evaluation. The appearance would include the beer’s clarity, color, amount of sediment and beer’s fill level.

Aroma

Getting the aroma–or simply “how the beer smells like”– requires a rather quick evaluation. Once the bottle or the can is opened, the aroma escapes. It also changes with time and temperature. Did you know that beer aroma sparks an emotional response? Aroma is what makes beer more enjoyable, and enhances its taste as well.

Flavor

The taste that you’re getting when drinking beer is what constitutes its flavor. Unknown to many, beer’s flavor is a combination of taste, smell, appearance and its mouthfeel. Flavor is such an important aspect of a beer, and through years of research and passion breweries put it, beer flavors have evolved over time.

Here are 6 basic beer flavors:

1. Sweet

A familiar taste that reminds us of everything good. It’s a pleasurable taste that many enjoy. Sweetness overshadows the bitterness in the beer, a balancing aspect of its flavor.

2. Sour

Beer is naturally acidic. Sourness is a minor flavor in a beer. It gives out the uniqueness of fruit flavored beers.

3. Salty

Salty flavor in beer mostly comes from the raw ingredients, especially the water. The saline level in the water used to for the brewing process. Saltiness brings a richer flavor to the beer.

4. Bitter

Bitterness is the taste traditionally associated with beers. This flavor plays a big role in determining the quality and mouthfeel of beers. It balances the acidity and other flavor undertones.

5. Umami

The ultimate flavor experience. Umami is a flavor sensation that you mostly gets from a piece of meat. It’s the Japanese word that means “deliciousness”. The umami flavor has become noticeable in beers because of its rich malt flavor.

6. Fatty

Fatty is a strange flavor in a beer, but it’s an interesting addition to the basic flavors associated with the drink.

Mouthfeel and Finish

Similar to how proper wine tasting is done, having a taste of the beer around the mouth is a pleasurable experience. Although beer comes with a more complex range of flavors, the mouthfeel and finish are the two aspects that make beer a popular drink of choice.

Alcohol By Volume (ABV)

Beer alcohol levels are measured by the ABV or “alcohol by volume” content in every bottle. It’s important to take note of the alcohol content to avoid having more than what the body can take (which is why authorities warn against ending up in unfortunate fender-benders).

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), high ABV in beer at standard 12 ounces will take twice as long for the liver to process. Since many new and popular craft beers carry 6% to 8% ABV, drinking responsibly is a must.

For a quick look at how the 5 beers were hand-picked for this review, let’s take a look at the chart below highlighting some of the most important details. A more comprehensive review will be presented as we move along with our ranking.

Night Shift Brewing Whirlpool - best summer beers

The Details

Surly HeatSlayer

The Surly HeatSlayer, a product of Surly Brewing Co., is a seasonal beer made especially for the hot summer weather. Surly is a Minnesotan company that has been brewing all kinds of beers since 2005.

Although the company is relatively young, this brewery managed to become a must-see destination in the State. The Surly Retail Store is listed as one of the national attractions alongside the Yosemite National Reserve and the Fremont Tall, among others.

Kölsch-Style Ale is a crisp, refreshing drink for the summer swelter. It’s not easy to represent a German-style beer, but the HeatSlayer did not disappoint. It’s very easy on the nose, too, with light and floral aroma and a hint of fruity sweetness.

The beer appears clear with a bright golden yellow color. Once poured in a glass, an ivory foam swirls and lasts just long enough to be enjoyed. A glass full of Surly HeatSlayer is very inviting, light, and very easy to drink. With its crisp, dry with just a touch of bitterness and hints of fruity flavors surround the palate, the HeatSlayer gives off an authentic summer vibe.

Flavor-wise, the HeatSlayer’s hops flavor is very prominent among all its flavor undertones, but that’s how Surly does beer. All in all, Surly HeatSlayer would make for a great summer companion. This German-style summer crusher comes in 12oz cans in a variety pack or on the tap and is available during the summer. Get a kick with its 5% ABV. Hoppy, fruity, refreshing, and with a good amount of alcohol, many say it’s their perfect beer for slaying summer!

Pros

Refreshing summer beer
Not bitter, with sweet undertones
Very light and easy to drink

Cons

Limited availability
No 12 or 6 pack