At the beginning of summer, it can sometimes be a challenge to find a good time and place to enjoy the outdoors. You may spend much of your time indoors, which is understandable, were it not for this article. As we welcome summer, let us refresh and replenish our bodies with some of the best summer beverages to beat the heat. Aside from the obvious water, which you should drink plenty of, especially if you’re hanging out outside, let’s go over some summer specials that perfectly complement the summer break we all deserve. You’re welcome!
First, let’s take a quick vacation to a small, seasonal farm brewery churning out some of the boldest flavors out of a barn. Fat Orange Cat Brew Co. specializes in high-quality, small-batch recipes to support and promote local agriculture in Norwich, England. And they did not disappoint with this one. If you are interested in beers with a lot of taste packed with hops or grains, this beer fits that category. When you open the beautiful floral can, the Welcome to Harga New England Style Double IPA hits you with a tangy pineapple/guava aroma. The first sip is almost sweet, but don’t let that fool you. This beer changes fast as the hops (Nelson and Motueka) explode in your mouth. Combining these two produces subtler bittering qualities that sit well on the palate to balance the malt sweetness. In addition, the flavor carries out fruity notes, adding an underlying creaminess and supplying a refreshing finish.
Suppose you want something more fruity – a juicer experience to cool you off in the hot and dry summer air, perhaps? DuClaw Brewing rains down on the senses with Sour Me Peach Sherbet, a velvety sour ale full-bodied with ripe, juicy peaches and a creamy mouthfeel that mixes the inherent mouth-puckering flavors of the brew with extensive peach notes and a silky finish forming a perfect blend of tart and sweet. This sour has the aroma of a peach milkshake or a peach smoothie, or even peach ice cream. Probably because of the lactose or the sweetness of the peach smell. This drink will coat your taste buds with peach, vanilla, sparkling white wine, and racy acidity, a tantalizingly tart ale that is as much sherbet as it is ale. You could easily say they are “souring us” instead. Try this if you are looking for that perfect line between jaw-clenching sour and a decadent dessert beer.
If you need an ice-cold sweet treat to beat this summer heat, Decadent Ales in New York has recently been putting out a lot of weirdly impressive beers perfect for the summer sun, such as the Toasted Marshmallow IPA and the S’mores IPA. I was able to get my hands on the Pacific Punch the other day, and boy, oh boy, was I glad I did! Orange, pineapple, strawberry, peach, mango, and I could go on. The word party doesn’t do it justice; there’s a fruit festival in this beer. Even though this is a very fruity beer, it’s still a double IPA, so for anyone who doesn’t like hoppiness or bitterness in their beers, I would not push this one too rigidly in your direction unless you’re willing to venture into the gray area between the two styles of beers.
All these drinks are great for the poolside, walking along the beach, or any of the high-temp activities you got planned for summer vacation. So, if you are feeling the heat rise and need a little cool-down packed with flavor, please take a moment to check out some of these companies at the Mellow Mushroom; crack open one of these beers, and cheers to a great summer!
-by Dani Jo Black
