Midwest Regional Summer Beer Chat

[WiskyDan]

I enjoy my initial trip to the beer store when the boating season begins almost as much as getting the boat out of storage. Always interested to see what new regional’ish summer/crushable beers are hitting the market. I usually stick to lighter beers while we’re floating around at the cove which I’m assuming is similar for most people - light and refreshing and not too heavy?

I’m not an IPA guy and am not a fan of hoppy and/or bitter beers and tend to stay away from them.

This year my annual beer pilgrimage took me to Total Wine and More and I picked up the following:

Summer Time / Goose Island
I’ve had this before and it‘ one of my go-to’s for the boat. It‘s a Kolsch style beer which happens to be my favorite beer type.

Sun Crusher / Revolution Brewing
Tried this for the first time yesterday and it’s OK but a bit too hoppy for my taste - I don’t think I’d buy it again.

Seaquench Ale / Dogfish Head
Tried this for the first time yesterday and it is pretty good but has an unusual taste to it. Kind of a mix between beer and a margarita which I normally wouldn’t like but it seems to work.

Fresh Coast / 3 Sheeps
Had this last year and all though its an IPA (juicy IPA) it was decent. It‘s about as hoppy a beer as I’m going to drink.

Crushworthy / Great Lakes Brewing
Had this last year and it’s pretty good. Can‘t find it other than the Great Lakes variety pack but will keep on looking.

Summer Shandy / Leinenkugels Brewing
Another summer go-to here in Wisconsin - pretty refreshing on a hot day.

Leinenkugels introduced Honey Lemon Light this year which sounds like it’s a light version of Summer Shandy. I’ll be picking up some of this today or for next weekend.

I‘ll occasionally have something a little heavier and like Point Amber and the Wisconsin go-to: Spotted Cow from New Glarus Brewing. Spotted Cow is a cream ale and is only sold in Wisconsin. It’s definitely heavier than what I would normally drink on the boat but it’s pretty tasty.

 

[Acard7]

It’s not new but we love Golden Road’s Mango Cart. Although I’ll only have a couple and then switch to light beer.

We really like Confluence brewing as well (out of Des Moines, IA) whenever we can get our hands on it. I really like their Light & Squeezy, it’s a lemon-raspberry radler. South Side is another we like too, it’s a Citra Blonde Ale. That one is on the more filling side though so we don’t take those on the boat.

 

[drewkaree]

Brother-in-law had the Honey Lemon Light and I snagged a can last week for golf. My tastes run dark, bocks, doppels, stouts, etc but I could knock those back as a boat drink.

Kwik Trip has a Fresca Paloma that I think is awesome for the boat, but it's way too spendy ($9/4-pack), and I haven't been able to find it reliably in other places. ALMOST picked up Cutwater's Paloma at Woodman's Friday, on the trip up, and I will likely try it soon.

I'm on some medication that's turning me into a cheap date - 3 "Wisconsin" cocktails, and I'm down for the count. Side benefit is zero hangover, crappy "benefit" is I gotta drink so slow to avoid it

 

[WiskyDan]

Brother-in-law had the Honey Lemon Light and I snagged a can last week for golf. My tastes run dark, bocks, doppels, stouts, etc but I could knock those back as a boat drink.

Kwik Trip has a Fresca Paloma that I think is awesome for the boat, but it's way too spendy ($9/4-pack), and I haven't been able to find it reliably in other places. ALMOST picked up Cutwater's Paloma at Woodman's Friday, on the trip up, and I will likely try it soon.

I'm on some medication that's turning me into a cheap date - 3 "Wisconsin" cocktails, and I'm down for the count. Side benefit is zero hangover, crappy "benefit" is I gotta drink so slow to avoid it

Had the Honey Lemon Light today and it’s going to be in the cooler all summer long.

I usually try to stay at a max of 5 beers on a normal boat day but the weather has been so good the past two days it’s been hard to slow down.

 

[WiskyDan]

Tried a new beer this weekend - Rhinegeist Glow. It’s another “session sour” that I’ve developed a taste for this summer and is really good. It has a more muted citrus taste than the Dogfish Head Sea Quench Ale and I’ll be getting some more.