Every week we round up the five best beers we tried that week. Have a recommendation? A beer we absolutely need to try? Email us at [email protected] with your pick.
In a shocking turn of events, the weather warmed up a bit this weekend and I was able to enjoy a beach trip. In a not very shocking turn of events, I got very sunburnt and I’m now holding cold cans of beer to my burns. So it goes.
This week we actually enjoyed quite a few easy-drinking beers here at Hop Culture. Below you’ll find the best beer we drank from September 21st to the 28th.
Many of the breweries below are shipping beer–both locally and nationally. Check TapRm or Drizly to see if they’re providing local delivery and check out one of our favorite delivery services – Tavour – to see if their beer is available nationally.
Santa Cruz Lite
Humble Sea Brewing Co. — Santa Cruz, CA
American Lager — This was the perfect beer to pair alongside a warm fall day at the beach. Crisp and light, this lager was simple in the best way. And while summer is in the rearview mirror, we can keep riding the sunny wave with the delicious and refreshing Santa Cruz Lite.
Guava Gose
Collective Arts Brewing — Hamilton, ON Canada
Fruited Gose — Collective Arts features a rotating cast of amazing artists on their can designs and the latest batch of Guava Gose had different artwork from three artists–all amazing. And the beer within was just as delightful. Guava Gose is loaded with fresh guava puree. And the result is a tropical juice bomb. In fact, the floral, refreshing guava juice flavor is met by a touch of saltiness to place you squarely on a tropical island.
Rare Merit
Roughhouse Brewing — San Marcos, TX
Table Beer — Rare Merit is an easy-drinking, mixed-culture table beer. While this style hasn’t exactly become uber-popular, we’re always happy when we stumble upon a low-ABV farmhouse ale with great flavor and restrained acidity. In fact, this particular table beer led with a bit of earthiness and finished with a touch of minerality and pepper. It was a pleasant, simple beer that could more than hold its own at the dinner table.
Western Conference All-Stars: Melvin
Westbound & Down + Melvin Brewing — Idaho Springs, CO + Alpine, WY
West Coast IPA — Westbound & Down, one of Colorado’s rising superstars in craft beer, has been collaborating with a series of breweries in its lineup of West Coast IPAs dubbed Western Conference All-Stars. In fact, the Idaho Springs brewery has been among our favorite consistent producers of West Coast IPAs. This edition in particular was really fantastic. Resin-y, bitter, and dank but with an undercurrent of tropical fruit.
Alemanian Pils
Von Ebert Brewing — Portland, OR
German-style Pilsner — And so we return to simplicity. Alemanian Pils is a wonderful example of a German-style Pils. Indeed, it’s light and bready but with a fantastic herbal tea note. Plus, some hints of lemon/lime drift in and out of this fluffy, malt-forward pilsner.
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