Nectar of the summer gods

Beers for the season

BEVERAGES | Bruce Rushton

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer Those days of soda and pretzels and beer.

–N. King Cole

Summer without beer? That would be like ice cream without a cone, a king without a tut, a cracker without a jack.

Sure, summer can be accomplished without suds, but why? From hoity-toity craft wheat beers to Schlitz, summer is the season when beer truly shines. During the summer, beer can be truly magical. Consider, if you will, the feel of an ice-cold can of Bud against your sweaty forehead after the lawn is mowed and the hammock beckons, with the “pfffft” of the can opening as delightful a summer sound as has ever been heard.

Notice we said “Bud” and “Schlitz” and “can” in the same paragraph. We appreciate fine beer as much as anyone, but beer need not cost a bundle to be good. When it comes to summer beer, the situation is nearly as important as the beverage. Cheap beer enjoyed by a campfire with friends after a day of fishing is, so far as we’re concerned, the best beer money can buy.

And so, without further ado and in no particular order, some beers that taste particularly good in the summer.

Strawberry blonde ale from Obed and Isaac’s Microbrewery and Eatery. I’m not generally a fan of malt beverages made with fruit, but this ale is nothing short of sublime. It has a hint of sweetness, yes, but not overly so – there is a suggestion of strawberries as opposed to hit-you-over-the-head, liquid strawberry shortcake. The taste is light and the alcohol content not excessive at 4.7 percent, so you can enjoy a few during the course of an afternoon without feeling drunk or weighed down. It’s popular and tends to run out quickly when they brew a batch, so make sure to order one when you get the chance. And skip the strawberry garnish that’s offered. This beer is perfect as is and needs no adornment.

Pilsner Urquell. No summer beer list is complete without a pilsner, and there’s a reason that Pilsner Urquell, brewed in the Czech Republic, has been around since 1842. It is, quite simply, the quintessential lager, full of flavor and depth and complexity that makes lesser domestics (sorry, but think Bud Lite) taste like water. This is a beer to be relished, not pounded, and for this you will need a proper glass, and so splurge on a pair of Pilsner glasses – the tall kind that resemble tulips on steroids – stick them in the freezer for a couple hours, then call a friend to help dispense with a six-pack in the early evening. A great way to spend a summer night.

Negra Modelo. What, a dark beer in the summer? Absolutely. Brewed in Mexico, Negra Modelo is a south-of-the-border version of a Munich dunkel lager, a form of beer first brewed in the 1500s while Hernán Cortés was having his way with the Aztecs. Mexican beers don’t get much traction with beer snobs, and deservedly so. Not that we’re beer snobs, but this one is different. Don’t let the color fool you, it drinks light, particularly considering the relatively hefty 5.4 percent alcohol content. We prefer ours straight from the bottle, and don’t forget to stuff a lime wedge down the neck as soon as the top comes off.

Samuel Adams Boston Lager. This is the beer that started it all for a brewery that now makes a bazillion kinds of beer, nearly all extremely good. But it doesn’t get better than this. One sip and you’ll know why Jim Koch launched the Boston Beer Company in 1984, shortly after brewing the first batch in his kitchen. Koch, who was a consultant before getting honest work as a brewer, holds bachelor’s, master’s and law degrees from Harvard, but he will always be remembered as the guy on the forefront of a resurgence in American brewing. The flavor is rich, crisp, refreshing – everything you want from a summer beer, whether enjoyed straight from the bottle or, better, yet, a frosted glass.

Stag. Once upon a time, you were broke and thirsty at the same time. And Stag came to the rescue, perhaps more than once. Sure, it’s cheap, but it is not necessarily that bad, especially when served just a smidgeon above the freezing point, as is de rigueur for all beers in this class. And it can bring back memories, as anyone who has popped open a can in civilized company can well attest. “Stag?” someone invariably exclaims. “I remember when…” And so begins a story, often rooted in college days, of taking up collections to buy beer, or of a drunken evening long ago that you would never repeat in the presence of children. But Stag is more than that. It’s the beer your blue-collar uncle bought and proudly served at backyard barbecues, the beer you remember from camping trips that tasted like the best beer in the world when fished from a cooler of half ice, half water, and always drunk straight from the can. This, as much as anything, is what summer beer should be about. Tradition.

Contact Bruce Rushton at brushton@illinoistimes.com.