To me, summer time drinking beers are wheat beers.  Nothing like a cool, slightly sweet, easy-drinking beer on a hot summer day!  Traditionally having a lower alcohol content is a plus as you can drink a few more than usual at the next BBQ!  I am still amazed at the diversity of the wheat beer…and I’ve brewed a lot of them.

One of my favorite wheat beers is Allagash White.  This beer from Portland, Maine is a year-round go to for me. Very easy drinking with a full wheat flavor and sweet body. Pyramid Hefeweizen is scarce on the east coast but worth the search. In my opinion, Brooklyn Brewery could do better though it is still an enjoyable brew.

I absolutely love this time of year…because I get to start making a lot of summer brews!  I am a fan of the wheat style and am still amazed at the diversity of this particular type of beer.  Easy drinking and slightly lower in alcohol content, there is nothing better on a warm summer day (or any day).  This style takes fruit flavoring well and varies remarkably from brewery to brewery.

Honestly, this is also definitely a style that most people like….non-beer drinkers, occasional drinkers and women…yes, I said it.  Women, in my experience, really like wheat beers.  I will end up brewing three out of five times a month, a delicious and refreshing wheat beer.

No matter what your tastes are, the time is coming to think about lighter and crisper beers.  Harpoon and Blue Point summer seasonals have not missed in years.  Sixpoint makes a very solid summer brew as does Red Hook.  I have brewed clones of Pyramid and Allagash but tend to tweak every recipe to make it my own.

It seems to have been a short winter here in NYC but that just means we get to start our spring ales sooner!  As we shed our warm winter coats along with our warming winter beers, we get to enjoy lighter and crisper ales…outside beers, I like to call them.  With a month minimum from brewing to drinking, now is the time to get started on the IPAs, copper ales and, my favorite, the ESBs.  A few good friends on a rooftop on a nice sunny spring day with some fresh home brewed goodness….sounds like a thin slice of heaven to me!

As the color of the leaves change, so does the color of our beer.  Autumn brings on darker and more flavorful beers.  Tis the season for pumpkin ales, autumn browns, harvest ales and brews made with spices and other fun ingredients!!

These beers tend to be maltier and richer than their summer cousins.  Full of flavor, I call these “jeans and sweatshirts beers”…perfect for that last BBQ or gathering before the winter closes in on us.  Too often these beers are squished between the oktoberfests and pumpkin beers and the winter ales and xmas offerings, but some of them are definitely worth the search.  Sierra Nevada’s Tumbler is a solid autumn beer that is fairly widespread and easy to find.  Check your local breweries for their autumn offerings and enjoy!!

September 19, 2011

Here we are at the changing of the seasonals and the emergence of spicy, flavorful pumpkin ales and dark, malty oktoberfests!  I take it as a personal challenge to try every brewery’s seasonal offerings…and here are my opinions so far this year.

Top of my list of seasonal yummy-ness is Blue Point Brewery in Long Island, NY.  They have a really good feel for seasonal beers and their pumpkin ale and oktoberfest are no exception.  The pumpkin ale has a perfect balance of spices, pumpkin flavor and malt.  Full-flavored and easy drinking, this is easily my personal favorite….so far.  The oktoberfest has a nice rich malt flavor but goes down easy and smooth without a viscous feel and lingering after-taste present in some oktoberfests. 

There are plenty of solid offerings out there as well.  Post Road Pumpkin by Brooklyn Brewery is always a solid beer though I think their Oktoberfest is a bit sub-par this year.  Harpoon’s Pumpkin UFO is a little lighter and sweeter than some but a very delicious unfiltered flavored wheat beer.  Magic Hat’s Hex and Leinenkugel’s Oktoberfest are definitely worth trying as well.

Whatever your preference is the important thing is to enjoy both the changing of the seasons and the accompanying beer offerings with good friends and family.