Summer is Another Word for Beer [Down-Time]

Here's an idea: let's bottle this stuff.

Here, two quick recent hits of mine on summer beers from the latest edition of Men’s Journal.

Rare Brews: Two exquisite craft beers, made only once a year

Firestone: Walker Solace

Hybrids of odd styles are popping up across the country, but this California beer is a brew marriage that actually works. The cross of wheat-enhanced Belgian saison and German hefeweizen intensifies flavor and spice in a lighter beer (firestonewalker.com).

Dogfish Head: Festina Peche

Sour beers are all the rage in craft brewing, but too many taste like pickle juice. Not so with brewer Sam Calagione’s summer-only offering, which is based on an acidic German style and made with peaches. It pops with the tart zing of good lemonade, with an added kick (dogfish.com). —Christian DeBenedetti