The dog days of summer

With it being nearly the surface of the sun hot here in Louisiana these days, with humidity near 1,000%, my usual strategy of drinking darker beers is not a winning one. Therefore I figured it was time to try some beers on the lighter side. Not light beers per se, but ones that are more appropriate for the season. I have two such beers to review. First is the Sierra Nevada Summerfest Lager and second is the Harpoon UFO (Un-filtered offering) Hefeweizen.

Sierra Nevada brewery of Chico, CA is one of the most recognizable brands in craft beer. Even non-beer drinkers have undoubtedly seen their label and their most popular beer, their Pale Ale. Their Summerfest Lager is a seasonal beer that I picked up as part of a mix and match six pack from my local Fresh Market store. I knew I had to try this one when my priest, Father Tom, who frequents the blog, asked me last Sunday if I had tried the Summerfest. Pure coincidence that I happened to have one in the fridge at the time.

Appearance: Beer poured a clear pale to golden yellow color and was highly carbonated. It had a thin white head. Not much lacing noted on the glass.

Smell: Nothing stood out from an aroma standpoint. Being a summer beer, I had pegged it to have some wheat and therefore citrus notes, but it did not.

Taste/Mouthfeel: No wheat taste as noted above. The best way I can describe it is being like a Heineken, but without the bite. I have also described Stella Artois this way. The beer had a light mouthfeel, as would be expected.

Overall: This one was appropriate for the season, but unremarkable. It was very drinkable, which is very important when the mercury reaches 100 here in south LA. For more information about this beer, please see http://www.sierranevada.com/beers/summerfest.html


The second beer , UFO Hefeweizen, was also part of a mix and match six pack, but from the World Market. For the uninitiated, a Hefeweizen is a beer that is brewed with a large portion of wheat in addition to the barley. Hefeweizen is the name in German for unfiltered wheat beers. Commonly available wheat beers include Blue Moon and Hoegarden. They are usually garnished with an orange slice to accent their typical citrus flavors.

Appearance: Cloudy golden color with nice carbonation. Beer poured a thin white head that dissipated rapidly. No real lacing was noted.

Smell: Not much in the way of wheat or yeast smell. The aroma was most like a pilsner.

Taste/Mouthfeel: This beer had more bite than the Summerfest, but did not have any citrus hoppy notes to speak of. It was not bitter, but not as smooth as the previous beer. It did have a light mouthfeel.

Overall: This one was kind of a disappointment. I had an idea of getting some wheat and citrus flavor with this one, but nothing there. Kind of watered down. It was however drinkable and light enough for summer. If I were to recommend a wheat beer from what I have tried so far, it would be the Great Northern Wheatfish. For more information on the UFO Hefeweizen, please see http://www.ufohefeweizen.com/

Although it is still hot here, I am not sweating it. Lots more seasonable beers to try. If they don't work, there is always fall and winter.

Cheers!