What a nice simple name “Summer Beer”. It does not boast to be more or less than a beer best served in the summer. I agree, this beer is just fine for that. This came in a Harpoon Summer Sampler. It poured up with just a good amount of head, and a golden clear color. The aroma has bits of citrus and very light wheat. The taste is crisp and fresh with what seems like a lot of carbonation let loose when it hit my mouth. I could drink a few of these this summer for sure.

Specs: 12oz bottle
5% ABV
IBU: 28

No I am not kidding. This is a legitimate beer. The beer is darker yellow, and almost cloudy. The aroma was best described by another drinker as ’skunk Canadian beer’. The taste is what this beer is all about. The tomato is not over powering, but the pizza spices do come though along with the garlic. Very interesting, and I am curious to try this beer while eating a pizza. The impressive part is that the bottle is a full pint! Check out their site here.

Specs: 16oz bottle
~5% ABV

With a name like this, how could I resist? A very dark color with a nose of a hop heavy, but not overwhelming, brew. This is certainly hoppy throughout and with some time between drinks, the dark dry flavors are quite prominent. There are some rich caramel malts that give a solid taste to offset the smallest portion of the hops at the first taste; this is probably another reason for the dark color. A good find for a single, but it’s too dry for my taste for more than one.

Specs: 12oz bottle
7.2% Alcohol
50 IBU

No this isn’t a SNL skit, it is an ‘Island Style Beer’. There’s that word again ’style’. Well I didn’t even get out the glass for this one. The beer is in a clear glass, and is about standard MGD/Bud/Corona color as you can get. The aroma is that of beer that was left out on a warm day too long. The taste is well just plain. A let down if you ask me. The beer is not repulsive, just unimpressive. A quick visit to their site shows that they aren’t really interested in the beer, but music and Margaritaville restaurants.

Specs: 12oz bottle
4.7 % ABV

This brew poured up a cloudy amber/brown color. It is another unfiltered beer, but I did not get any sediment in my glass that I can see. You can smell the hops in this beer. They do dry hops this one and that is cause of the hoppy aroma. The taste is less hoppy than I expected from this beer. The initial taste is not too bitter, but still has some bitter and a flowery sweet taste to it. My palate is left with just a bit of bitter on it. I am not sure that I got what I expected from this beer. Checking out their site, this only has 32 IBU. Founders Dirty Bastard has 50 IBUs, but the other flavors help conceal that.

Specs: 12oz bottle
5.2% ABV
32 IBU

Here’s another ale from Saranac’s summer sampler. Kölsch is a particular style from Cologne, Germany. Notice the light color-the aroma is quite light as well and the head dies down quickly. Malts are light and hops are prominent throughout. Not as bitter as a pils, but the nice dry finish leaves the light taste just long enough. Nice work Saranac, but be warned:the Kölsch convention of 1986 determined it is misleading to brew beer under the Kölsch name if it isn’t made in Cologne.

Specs: 12oz bottle
5.0% Alcohol

After having ribs and 32oz of draft Sunset Wheat, this beer finished my night. This beer is a dessert to me. After pouring this black beer into the glass and waiting for the bit of head to fade, I took my picture and began to enjoy. The aroma is stout with chocolate and coffee hints. The taste is full and not watery at all. The bitter is from barley they used, but it comes across as a bitter chocolate taste. The oats help round the taste out. I find this to be one of the best oatmeal stouts I have had. Thank you Schlafly, I will have to find a way to get more in my area!

Specs: 12oz bottle
5.7% ABV
IBU: 40

“Beer made from sorghum and extract.” First thing I noticed was as I removed the cap, high carbonation almost spilled head all over my counter. Wait, look at the picture. It’s almost gone by the time I setup the shot and get a clean take. Incredibly light color and aroma, this is an unusual beer that certainly is crisp. Sweetness comes from the sorghum and rice extract giving this a flavor that reminds me of a very smooth sake, but I doubt this would taste good warm. There’s a strong hop finish that rids the pallet of the sweetness but lets the flavor linger for about a half minute. Gluten-free for those with allergies!

Specs: 12oz bottle
5.75% Alcohol

This is a Trappist beer that poured with a large amount of head in our small glasses. Chris and I shared this bottle while grilling up at our parent’s cottage in Michigan. We both enjoyed the light aroma as it mixed with the chicken and corn on the grills. We also liked that no one feature of the beer overwhelmed the other. It was a very balanced beer that was a bit sweet, a bit bitter, but they complimented each other and did not over power the other. I can’t wait to grab a blue and white bottle and try those as well. Don’t let the unfiltered and unpasteurized scare you away from this one. The backdrop on the photo is a wood burning oven that our father made primarily for bread and pizza.

Specs: 25.4oz bottle
7% ABV

IIIPPPAAA, that’s a triple IPA! And WOW this beer is one too. I am not sure if it is the lingering toothpaste taste and this beer or just the beer that makes it so strong. I will start with the taste: It is sweet going down, with lots of that good bitters at the end. A lot of bitters at the end. The alcohol content on this one is also tasted. You have to be careful with these! Let’s go back just a bit now… It all began when I opened this beer and poured it’s reddish brown contents into my glass. The sweet smell brought me in closer until I drank. That’s when it sprung the hops on me. Darn those hops being great tasting and O so bitter. For those that like strong alcohol and strong bitter… get some.

Specs: 12oz bottle
13% ABV
IBU: 112