Summer Time!

Due to the fact that it is cold and wet in Ireland I thought what better time to clear out my fridge of summer beers that I did not get around to drinking earlier in the year.

First up is Sierra Nevada Summerfest. The beer pours a very light lemon colour with a thin loose white head. Very subtle aroma, sweet malt is apparent with a very light flowery hop aroma. It is light bodied with a very crisp clean finish. Nice malt character, sweet yet subtle, with a nice floral hop character and a hint of spice. Not as sharp as a traditional pilsner, but the flavours are soft and subtle making this a great session beer. Overall a very pleasing light refreshing lager, well worth picking up a few bottles.

Next up was Goose Island Summertime, I am a big fan of their IPA and so I was looking forward to this. The bottle describes this as a German style kolsch beer. It pours a light golden colour with a thin white head that dissipates quickly. The aroma is so subtle that it is nearly non-existent, very slight spicy character is apparent if you focus really hard. Light bodied, with a beautifully smooth mouthfeel. Lovely fruity flavours dance across the mouth, hints of lemon and melon give this beer an amazingly refreshing taste. A fantastic beer, one I would be stocking up on for when the weather picks up.

Last but not least is Anchor Summer Beer, an American style wheat beer, a style I have not tried before. Pours a light golden colour with a large white frothy head that dissipates quickly. There is an aroma from this beer that you would expect more from a pilsner, and definitely a million miles away from what I would associate with a typical German wheat beer. The large proportion of wheat used in this beer gives it a nice smooth mouthfeel, but the flavours are very subdued. The flavour is a little sweet, a little sour, with the merest hint of lemon. The combination of flavours just result in a pretty bland beer, refreshing but not very exciting.

And so the winners and losers:

1. Goose Island Summertime - a fantastically refreshing beer, perfect for a long hot summers day

2. Sierra Nevada Summertime - a nice refreshing drink, a little light but does the job.

3. Anchor Summer Beer - a distant 3rd to be honest, if this is what American wheat beers are like I think I will be steering clear.

Honkers Ale



Honkers Ale, definitely worth
picking up a few bottles.

Honkers Ale by Goose Island is described as an English style bitter, so how would an American brewery fare when making a beer style that its US counterparts have pretty much forgotten about in the race to make their beers bigger, bolder and more extreme?

The beer pours a lovely light amber colour with a thick fluffy white head. The aroma is of warm sweet malt with a nice strong spicy English hop aroma (maybe fuggles hops). Light to medium bodied with a smooth creamy mouthfeel. The flavour is well balanced, sweet malt up front, a nice biscuity centre, with a hint of hop bitterness on the end. Finishes slightly dry and the hop bitterness lingers nicely at the back of your throat.

A very nice attempt at an English bitter, very drinkable and at 4.3% would make a great session beer. Definitely worth picking up a few bottles.