It is with heavy hearts that we dip our quills in the ink well one last time. Yes, we are also dipping in another well to come up with sappy metaphors to say goodbye. Nevertheless, the sun is shining in between snowfalls and summer is ever so slowly creeping into our lives. What better way to sign off than to return to the theme of our very first article and introduce some beers that make us think of summer?
Nothing says summer like hot, and nothing says hot like chili peppers. But chili peppers in beer? That is exactly what Chili Beer is, a light golden-colored brew from Black Mountain Brewing Co. with a tiny little chili pepper actually in the bottle. Upon opening it, we immediately caught the whiff of cheap beer. It smells and tastes a lot like Bud Light, which is to say it won neither of us over in that respect. Then the chili hit and Matt immediately regretted taking such a huge initial swig. Ryan forgot to mention the chili-pepper rule of thumb: The smaller the pepper, the spicier it is. It's a cheap gimmick, sure, but it works. Although we couldn't finish a bottle between the two of us, we still think this beer is cool. It's perfect for a summer barbecue machismo contest or party prank.
If you grew up in Michigan, you were probably dragged to the Holland Tulip Time Festival while you were too young to appreciate it. To explain to those out-of-towners who have no idea what we're talking about, think an of entire festival devoted to thousands of tulips. Also, clogs. Anyway, New Holland Brewing Company takes the snugly tulip feeling to their Red Tulip Ale, a darker summer concoction that maintains a light and flavorful taste. It is an excellent alternative for those days when you get tired of the wheat beer options that tend to dominate the summer taps. This one is seasonal; get it while it lasts.
During our beer shopping spree (as close as we come to getting in touch with our feminine side), we ran across something that was too seasonally tickling to pass up: Buffalo Bill's Brewery Orange Blossom Cream Ale. The label was lovely and the bouquet was of Crush orange soda. Luckily, the beer tastes nothing like Crush. It has a light beer taste necessary to meet our exacting standards for summer beers but saves most of its orange finish for the end after you have enjoyed the beer. It is also legitimately orange and not one of those generic lemon/lime flavors. Of all the beers we selected, this one fits summer beers like Tom Izzo fits coaching. A very pleasant drink for a swelteringly hot afternoon.
For the summer season, Dark Horse Brewing Company in Marshall brings us Sapient Trip Ale. Why is it a summer beer? Can you make a summer beer simply by selling it only during summer? What is the meaning of summer? Is time only an illusion? We might never know the answers to these questions, especially the first one. Despite the claims of Dark Horse, we can't figure out what makes a standard Belgian triple ale a summer beer. Even the label is not very summery - some creepy druid holding a very menacing mailbox (we swear we're not making this up). It's not bad, but it doesn't live up to our rigorous standards for summer beer.
Finally, we return to our old standby from Boston. Ah, Samuel Adams, continuing the tradition our country was founded on: drunken carousing. Just kidding of course; we are referring to Sam Adams Summer Ale. A smooth and light beer much in the style that the other Sammys seem to follow. It takes a light turn at the end and leaves a clean finish. The label tells of its exotic roots from places like Spain, and strange ingredients like "Grains of Paradise." We have no idea what Grains of Paradise are, but it's certainly sexy and exotic sounding and thus worthy of summer.
That's it. That is your start to a summer of great beers. It's the last time we'll tell you what to drink, what to think and how to talk about it. From now on you'll have to do it on your own. With any luck, our weekly sage advice has set you on the path to beer-vana and true brew enlightenment. This job has distracted us long enough.
Hopefully, you have been encouraged to tour your local brewery, try a new and exotic beer, brew your own or at least get drunk (responsibly). We'd like to thank you for reading what we mostly made up week after week. For those of you who have been with us since the beginning, you might remember this line, now more relevant then ever: We have the best job ... ever.
Email Ryan and Matt at drinkingbuddies@beer.com.
