Summer Beer?

djskip · Post by **djskip** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 4:20 am

Things are starting to heat up so I'm just curious what everyone's beer of choice is for the warmer weather. OR what beer goes hand in hand for you and summer!

Me, I'm all about the wheat beers for the summer and stay away from the darker ales. Then switch back in the fall.

SteelbackGuy · Post by **SteelbackGuy** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:17 am

These are my summer staples in no particular order:

Grand River Galt Knife Old Style
Czechvar
Hacker Pschorr Weisse
Paulaner Weissbier

Bobsy · Post by **Bobsy** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:27 am

In the summer I also generally stay away from heavier brews, although its not a golden rule for me. I usually opt for something refreshing with a bit of a bitter zing to it, like an APA or IPA. This summer I can see myself drinking:
County Durham Signature
Anchor Liberty
ST/DFH IPA
Black Oak Nut Brown

I'm also trying all sorts of local micros I haven't tried before so maybe I'll find something promising in there.

Colin @ Canada · Post by **Colin @ Canada** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:54 pm

Great lakes Orange Peel Ale, Camerons dark lager, sgt. majors IPA, Hockley stout and hockley gold, amsterdam framboise, durham signature ale, black oak nutbrown, taps red cream ale, wellington trailhead and county dark, nickel brook apple pilsner, millstreet organic lager.

Then for tomorrow night I will have a different line-up.

Ale's What Cures Ya · Post by **Ale's What Cures Ya** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 5:11 pm

IPA pairs perfectly with a hot day.

Wait, IPA pairs perfectly with any kind of day, hour, month, year, etc.

Illuminatus · Post by **Illuminatus** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 7:03 pm

DragonOfBlood wrote:IPA pairs perfectly with a hot day.

Wait, IPA pairs perfectly with any kind of day, hour, month, year, etc.

Amen.

My beer intake doesn't change much during the summer. I usually do end up drinking a lot of Aventinus, though, as well as the occasional overchilled Orval. (Heresy, I know, but delicious heresy.)

midlife crisis · Post by **midlife crisis** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:22 pm

I really look forward to Black Oak Summer Saison. In a different vein, I also quite like Granite Summer Ale, especially the dry-hopped cask version (wish they served it that way at their own pub). Fortunately, it does pop up occasionally at Volo and C'est What.

El Pinguino · Post by **El Pinguino** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:10 pm

I'm starting to migrate to the wheat beers already, after picking up some Mill St Wit today.
I agree about the year-round hops though...and am most looking forward to the ST and DFH brews coming out soon!
Will the Black Oak Summer Saison ibe available at the LCBO?

velovampire · Post by **velovampire** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:10 pm

midlife crisis wrote:I really look forward to Black Oak Summer Saison. In a different vein, I also quite like Granite Summer Ale, especially the dry-hopped cask version (wish they served it that way at their own pub). Fortunately, it does pop up occasionally at Volo and C'est What.

I absolutely love the saison, and usually pick up at least a case. Any idea if they'll be putting this out this summer (I truly hope so), what with the move and all?
Haven't had the Granite Summer Ale, but have been looking forward to trying that this summer.

Summer taps for me: Denison's Weissbier, Magnotta Wunderweisse, Grand River Galt Knife Lager and Plowman's Ale (and growlers), Granite Hop Head (cask)

and bottles: Black Oak Summer Saison and Pale Ale, Church Key West Coast Pale Ale (requires a trip to the brewery), and the occasional local pilsner purchase - Stratford, Stonehammer or Steamwhistle when it gets reeeeeally hot.

Jan Primus · Post by **Jan Primus** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 1:25 am

This summer I will mostly drink DFH60 and ST ipa's. The Rogue Brutal Bitter would be an awesome summer beer but mine and the LCBO's inventory are running low...got to make it last til the ipa's are here.

Malcolm · Post by **Malcolm** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 1:53 pm

The IPA's are here - in Parkdale at least. I was at The Rhino last night and the waitress trotted out a new beer menu that contained (among other goodies) 3 Southern Tier products. So I jumped on it and ordered 2 IPA's (just being considerate and saving her a trip!) which I've never had before. Awesome stuff. And for the low price of $4.95 a bottle. One of my drinking buddies had a bottle of the same at Smokeless and it was $9. What the hell?
Anyway, it's a great beer for The Rhino patio.

lister · Post by **lister** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 2:00 pm

Malcolm wrote:And for the low price of $4.95 a bottle. One of my drinking buddies had a bottle of the same at Smokeless and it was $9. What the hell?

Smokeless is a more expensive location to operate at, probably a smaller location than Rhino and therefore far less volume of customers and a limited food menu all contribute to a higher cost.

tupalev · Post by **tupalev** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 3:07 pm

4.95 is a great price. And although I completely agree Smokeless is a more expensive location to operate at (although the Rhino is about 10 times bigger than Smokeless, so there are more costs involved in that aspect of the business), $9 is milking it a bit, especially for a beer that will be on LCBO shelves soon. I think in the most recent Private order I paid around $2.20/bottle (with deposit)...

Glad you discovered it and liked it Malcolm! It has been a favourite of mine for the past few years, the summer in particular.

tupalev · Post by **tupalev** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 3:15 pm

I just re-read your comments Lister - good point on lower food volume, but even at cheaper Parkdale rents (and/or taxes), the overhead (and staffing) at a place that much larger than Smokeless cannot be overlooked.

But it does not really matter - Rhino will have the cheapest prices in the city every time if we're looking at the same beers. Smokeless is expensive even by downtown standards, but they obviously continue to do ok, which means people do not mind paying for their good beer, so more power to them. Bartowel folks who are aware the same beer can be found at half the price elsewhere, or up to 4 times cheaper at the LCBO are not exactly their target market I would think...in the case of Southern Tier IPA anyway...

lister · Post by **lister** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 3:46 pm

Yeah, I think when people complain about prices being rather high at places like Smokeless or beerbistro they often fail to realize the factors that go into the cost. Also the owners know their markets so if they figure they can squeeze out a few more bucks profit then hey, good on them if it keeps the business healthy.

I think most of us are smart enough not to order an LCBO/BS available bottle at any bar in town (being on tap is a different story.) Bottle-wise I only ever order beer that's not available at the LCBO/BS or when there's a private order available I may get a bottle to try at a bar to try it before plunging into a case purchase.