The main reason I have been behind on my blogs is because my summer beer drinking has become predictable. I have been obsessed with Other Half Brewing being in town and frequently find myself stopping there for cans, bottles & pours. The other beers that have taken up a fair amount of space in my refrigerator are Genesee’s Ruby Red Kolsch & Lemon Strawberry Cream Ale. The latter feels like a response to Natural Light’s surprisingly successful Naturday, a Strawberry Lemonade flavored light lager. It could be my local pride talking here but I honestly believe Genesee’s Lemon Strawberry Cream is the better of the two. Genesee’s Lemon Strawberry Cream Ale is not as sweet as Naturday which is a plus and the fruit flavor is dialed back a bit allowing the base beer to come through a bit more. To keep it short, both beers are good, but Genesee’s is better.
Another great summer beer I enjoyed was Couch Tour, a cucumber sour from Three Heads Brewing. It’s very refreshing with just the right amount of cucumber. If you come across it, I highly recommend trying it.
Basically, I have been drinking a lot of great beer but my drinking habits need to expand. So for this blog, I decided to go with a widely released beer from a craft brewery I have not drank anything from in quite some time. I also really wanted summer to be in the beer’s name, so I decided to go with One Hazy Summer from Harpoon Brewery.
Hazy, hoppy beers that get a wide release tend to be hit and miss. For example, I really enjoyed Hazy Little Thing from Sierra Nevada but found Bells Official to be disappointingly bland. Harpoon’s One Hazy Summer is not going to blow you away but it is a decent pale ale. The aroma is floral, fruity & malty. Biscuit in particular really comes through, along with pineapple, mango, berry and a touch of citrus. The aroma matches the flavor for the most part. The hops compliment the biscuity malt profile, adding a touch of brightness. Mango & pineapple come through the most, along with a touch of berry & citrus before a soft, herbal, dry finish.
I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed One Hazy Summer. It might not be as hoppy as I wanted it to be but it works. It’s a light, easy drinking, reasonable priced, session beer that will work nicely as a beach beer, lawnmower beer, camping beer, basically any summer occasion beer. One that I am glad is taking up real estate in my refrigerator.
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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!
