Beers to You
Seasonal summer releases on their way
By Aubrey Laurence
There’s nothing like a good beer after a heart-pumping run, bike, paddle or hike. And as the Pacific Northwest continues to get warmer and sunnier, après-activity beers are increasingly in order. Fortunately, beers fit for the season and your outdoor activities are surfacing just in time.
Seasonal beers are special ales and lagers that are only made during certain times of the year. Often, they reflect the palate of the season. Winter seasonals, for example, tend to be dark and roasty with high levels of alcohol and residual sweetness, providing cozy comfort on cold winter nights.
On the other hand, to complement warm weather, yard work and barbecues, spring and summer seasonal beers tend to be crisp, light and refreshing, and they can include a wide range of styles — everything from wheat beers to saisons and maibocks to pilsners.
Typically, these beers are highly effervescent and very sessionable (i.e., easy to drink), and they generally have a light-to-medium body and a relatively low level of alcohol.
Here are some great spring and summer seasonal beers to quaff.
Redhook Pilsner
(Formerly Rope Swing Summer Pilsner)
by Redhook Brewery (Woodinville, Wash.)
After Redhook Brewery released Rope Swing Summer Pilsner as a summer seasonal last year, it quickly became one of the brewery’s most beloved and highly consumed seasonals. And because it was so well received, the brewery decided to add it to its permanent lineup in 2011, with the new, simpler name, Redhook Pilsner.
This traditional, Czech-style pilsner has a soft and smooth texture and a moderate amount of Czech-grown Saaz hops, which imbue the beer with a spicy, refreshing and thirst-quenching finish. The malt side of the beer has a subtle sweetness and delicate notes of light grains and fresh bread.
“We are excited to see Pilsner return in our year-round lineup,” says Greg Deuhs, Redhook brewmaster. “We are extremely pleased with the way the beer turned out.”
Redhook Pilsner returns just in time for Redhook’s 30th anniversary. To celebrate, the brewery recently unveiled new, custom-made, no-frills bottles, which are part of Redhook’s effort to get back to its roots.
Available: April – July
ABV: 5.3 percent
IBUs: 25
Kölsch German Style Ale
by Hale’s Ales (Seattle, Wash.)
Hale’s Ales was one of the first breweries in the nation to release a seasonal beer. In 1983 it released Wee Heavy Winter Ale. “Wee Heavy seemed more appropriate for the winter months than year-round,” says Mike Hale, Hale’s Ales founder. “It’s a good and warming beer for the fireside.”
At the turn of the millennium, the brewery came out with Kölsch German Style Ale for the spring and summer months.
Similar to Champagne in France, only brewers in the city of Cologne (Köln), Germany, may use the name Kölsch. The name protection, however, does not apply to American brewers, and over time Kölsch has become a generic name for the style of beer.
The Kölsch style of beer is often mistaken for a lager, but it’s actually a hybrid because it is fermented with ale yeast and aged like a lager.
Hale’s Ales’ Kölsch is brilliantly golden in color, and light and crisp on the tongue. It is accented by delicate, fruity esters and a faint, vinous note. The beer is fermented with a genuine Kölsch yeast and then cold-lagered (aged at a cooler temperature and for a longer amount of time than most ales), making it crisp, clean and refreshing.
Available in bottles: April – August
ABV: 4.5 percent
IBUs: 30
Bête Blanche Belgian-style Tripel
by Elysian Brewing Co. (Seattle, Wash.)
You may have seen Elysian Brewing Company’s spring seasonal Bête Blanche Belgian-style Tripel — nicknamed “Bitch” — in Elysian pubs over the years, but this is the first time she’s been bottled. The beer’s name is a twist on the French expression “Bête Noire,” which means “black beast” or an object or idea that is disliked or avoided. But this tripel is definitely not a beer to avoid.
It’s brewed with pale malts, Belgian candi sugar, and German and Slovenian hops, and it’s fermented with Belgian ale yeast. The result is a medium-bodied tripel that’s delicious and dangerously easy to drink.
Available: February – May
ABV: 7.5 percent
IBUs: 31
Curve Ball Blonde Ale
by Pyramid Brewing Co. (Seattle, Wash.)
Moderately carbonated and refreshingly crisp, Curve Ball pours with a hazy gold hue and wafts with delicate herbal aromas. It has notes of bread and wheat, and it finishes clean and dry.
This cold-lagered ale is highly drinkable and it makes for the perfect, thirst-quenching accompaniment to all your summer activities.
Available: April – July
ABV: 5 percent
IBUs: 18
Sunburn Summer Brew
by Widmer Brothers Brewing Co. (Portland, Ore.)
Sunburn Summer Brew is a smooth, refreshing and sessionable ale. It’s made with Citra hops, which contribute citrusy properties to the beer. Sunburn is light in body and alcohol, yet it’s still full of flavor, making it a great beer for any summer afternoon, whether you’re playing under the sun or working in the yard.
Available: May – early Aug.
ABV: 4.3 percent
IBUs: 20
Twilight Summer Ale
by Deschutes Brewery (Bend, Ore.)
The Deschutes brew crew took Twilight as a challenge to prove that “light” doesn’t mean boring. And they succeeded in brewing a lighter beer that’s also flavorful.
Twilight has a rich and bready malt backbone that is complemented by hoppy hints of flowers and citrus. In the aftertaste, snappy hop notes might make you think of fragrant flower petals and tart fruit.
Available: May – September
ABV: 5 percent
IBUs: 35
LTD 05 Amber Lager
by Full Sail Brewing Co. (Hood River, Ore.)
Amber ale lovers: You must try this Limited Edition Lager from Full Sail. It’s a refreshingly smooth and clean, copper-colored beer with hints of toasted bread, nuts and faint fruit, such as cooked pears. Brewed with a blend of pale, chocolate and caramel malts, LTD 05 is balanced by an earthy and mildly bitter addition of Czech-grown
Saaz hops.
Available: March – June
ABV: 5.6 percent
IBUs: 28
Aubrey’s passion for craft beer began in the early 1990s. Since then, he has written about beer, homebrewed beer, rated beer (3,000 beers from 49 states and 57 countries), traveled for beer, and judged beer at two national competitions. He lives in Bellingham with his dog, two cats and a very tolerant wife.
Beer for rehydration?
In 2007, researchers at Granada University in Spain determined that a pint of beer after exercise is better at rehydrating the human body than water. They believe that it is the sugars, salts and bubbles (carbon dioxide) in beer that may help people absorb fluids more quickly, and that beer’s carbohydrates replace calories lost during physical exertion. Beer is a diuretic, however, so it’s probably a good idea to rehydrate with water
as well. ~A.L.
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