Friday Night Beers

Had two great beers last night.

The first beer was Sierra Nevada's Summerfest.

This beer was surprisingly excellent.  I had always read about how excited people were that Summerfest was available but never really knew why since it seemed like such a generic summer.  However, with all the hype I figured I should try it out just to see what all the fuss was about.  The beer poured a nice looking orange with beautiful head and smelled mildly of oranges.  Taste wise, it started very clean with some mild sweetness and finished with a smooth flavor of orange and citrus.  There was basically no hoppiness to this beer and it would make a great session beer on a hot day.  The Summerfest totally lived up to the hype as well which was really satisfying.  When this comes out next summer I'm definitely going to be on the lookout for it because both Jo and I really liked it and on a hot summer day it will be great to kick back with a glass of this.

The second beer I had last night was Voodoo's White Magick of the Sun.

Where the Sierra Nevada was smooth and unassuming, this beer is totally in your face.  The base of it is a wheat ale but because of all the spices they threw into it the style isn't terribly recognizable.  However, for one beer in the night, it was a very good attempt at something different.  I thought the spices blended pretty well and made for a nice experience.  I definitely don't think I'd order a whole pint, but I enjoyed 12oz of it.

Smuttynose Summer Weizen Ale

I had the last of my Smuttynose Summer Weizen Ale today.

This is one of the better summers that I picked up.  It pours a nice golden color with a nice white head.  The taste is nice and crisp mix of summer and wheat that ends with a really delicious sweetness.  I was surprised how much I liked this beer, but the mixture of summer and wheat was really good.  Probably should have expected it though since Smuttynose makes great beers.  Their Baltic Porter is one of the best porters I've ever had.

Brooklyn Summer

Today's beer is Brooklyn Summer Ale.

As you can see it's pretty representative of the style.  A nice golden color, a little bit of head, and slightly cloudy.  The taste is also what you'd expect although it really is pretty good.  Slightly sweet, no real hoppiness, just a nice, safe beer that's really refreshing on a hot day or after work.