Summer Beer is Near

Summer is just around the corner, and with that, we will soon be seeing a litany of summer beers from A - Z.  Ahhhh, the summer.  We can hardly wait for it.  Vacations.  Time to float rivers, go to the lakes, tube, hang glide, head to the coast, sit in the pool in the backyard, or fill a metal goat feeder from a feed store to put your feet in and pretend  you are in the other locations.

First, since there is a large quantity of summer ales from which to choose, Average Guy is committed, dedicated, and sworn to you, the loyal reader and beer enthusiast to leave no stone unturned, no trail not traveled, nor allow a lead to not be exhausted, to find and sample and report back to you of the sensory experience provided by a refreshing ale in the summer.  It is as though God, during creation, said that there needed to be seasons:  one to let you know summer was coming to an end - the fall; one to rest the weary land from its harvest - the winter; one to plant in anticipation of a bountiful harvest - the spring; and one to provide enough heat so as to enjoy a cool refreshing ale - the summer. 

Yes, it all comes together in the summer - from planting to harvest for us to enjoy the fruits of our labors.  Well, actually we enjoy the grains of our labors, but you get the idea via cliché.

Our first beer I first enjoyed about two summers ago in Milwaukee at the Miller Beer Pub in the Hilton in downtown.  Milwaukee is a beautiful city that sits along Lake Michigan and features much of what we have learned to love in life - beer, baseball, Harley's, and all things that go along with living on a great lake (fishing, boating, and other such activities).  While at the pub, I asked the young man behind the bar to give me something local, so he gave me samples of Leinenkugels (which still is a craft brewery but it was purchased by Miller probably as we were speaking).

My favorite at that tasting was the Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy.  Leinenkugel Brewery is located in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and no doubt, the effects of life in that town had an impact on this beer.  The Shandy has a strong lemon taste (the ingredients state lemonade to be specific) which is perfect or a summer beer (in contrast to fall or winter beers who seem to insist on cloves in addition to cinnamon and some other fruit making it almost undrinkable).  Like the people of Wisconsin, this beer has a certain amount of character to it.  I will confess I violate the beer enthusiast's creed of ethics and drink my summer beers cold, not cool.

The young man at the pub knew I was staying at the hotel, and so he felt moved to share samplings of the beer and some food he thought it went well with.  Consequently, after a few hours of watching baseball, talking to him, sampling beer and food, I went back to my room for my eight hour nap early.

There are more summer beers to enjoy, but this one is a particular favorite of mine.  Hope you enjoy as well.  Average Guy has much sampling and reporting to do this summer, so I'm taking it one at a time.