Summer Beers
All beers are summer beers!
In my eyes, every beer is a summer beer. Yes, I’ll admit that pumpkin beers are best consumed in fall, and Christmas Ales taste better when there’s snow on the ground, but I don’t think there’s one symbolic, summer style.
When I think about summer beers, I think of everything from crisp IPAs to dessert stouts to juice-spiked seltzers. Lucky for Pittsburghers, there are plenty of local breweries around to keep us well-hydrated and ready to day drink. To help you narrow down the field, we’ve outlined a few of our favorite beers and can series to keep an eye out for this summer – some seasonal, some year-round.
These brews may have similar characteristics – a bit lighter-bodied, lower ABV, or lean towards fruiter flavors – but that doesn’t mean they’re all lagers, pilsners, and sours.
gristhouse.com
Last summer, Grist House launched their first-ever seltzer series, Seltza Drip, with flavors like strawberry guava, blackberry-tangerine, and mimosa. Each seltzer is based on real fruit, making the mouth feel a bit thicker and the flavor incredible. We might not know the flavors or release dates, but we do know one thing: Seltza Drip will return in 2021.
dancinggnomebeer.com
Lustra, perhaps one of Dancing Gnome’s most well-known and beloved brews, tastes especially good in summer. (Though, to be honest, I’d happily sip on a pint any time.) The beer is a 5.8% pale ale and will capture any drinker by the heart: it’s super approachable, filled with citrusy flavors.
Watch out for some of their less-frequent releases, too – Stained Glass Ceilings, an 8% double IPA, and Etch, a 6.6% IPA, were some of my favorites from last summer.
hitchhiker.beer
Hitchhiker's beer list compares to a fruit stand; their rotating lineup is full of flavors like mango, watermelon, lemon, and cherry. Stick to their Fruit Rush smoothie sour series for, well, a fruit rush: their most recent iteration, Blueberry Watermelon, conditions a kettle sour on lemons, blueberries, and watermelon.
Or, find summer flavors in their stout selections. Favorites from years past have been oreo-flavored, conditioned on Count Chocula cereal, or made in likeness to a chocolate and vanilla shake.
strangerootsbeer.com
Get your funk on at Stranger Roots, a Millvale brewery known for farmhouse and experimentative ales. Their house lager, at around 4%, is made for sunny days. Fruit shines in their tartshake series, in flavors like blueberry peach and strawberry rhubarb. For the seltzer-heads, their year-round bubbly offering is balanced, easy-going, and super drinkable.
cinderlandsbeerco.com
There’s never a quiet moment at Cinderlands’ massive, 15-barrel brewing system in the Strip District. Squish, a 5.5% light-bodied pale ale, is another year-round brew that hits just right in summer. For a burst of fruit, shop their tartshake series, and be on the lookout for delicate Saisons and grisettes to hit in the future.
eastendbrewing.com
While you can’t go wrong with their signature American Ale, Big Hop, East End has plenty of cans for you to crush this summer. Start with Wheat Hop (before it’s gone!) a 5.1% hoppy American wheat ale loaded with juice, before moving to Pedal Pale Ale, a crisp, citrusy, traditional pale ale.
East End is also set to release the fourth iteration of their massive collaboration brew, the Pennsylvania Loophole Project, this time including 23 breweries across the state. This version will be a white IPA, which Scott Smith, owner of the brewery, says sits somewhere between a Belgian Witte and a modern IPA.
shubrew.com
Love smoothies, but also want a beer? Go for this Zelienople brewery's Smooshie series; their latest a 7% Tropical Fruit Punch described as a “smoothie in a can” and “pure in-your-face fruit." It's the perfect breakfast beer.
Go hoppier with Shubrew’s returning Pixelated IPA, Jumpman, a personal (and city) favorite. The 6% IPA, flaunting pineapple and citrus, is undoubtedly drinkable.