Pull off the grill cover, put on a tank, and rejoice over summer’s return. The sun hangs high and lazy, its toasty rays full of promise: music festivals, rooftop parties, and coolers loaded with summer craft beers whose refreshing flavors are prime for the season.
The best beers for summer
Sometimes light and bright is the ticket, and traditional lagers are champions of crisp. Lush fruit is a summer staple, so watch for Wild ales infused with juicy harvests. And hops are so versatile, the wide world of India Pale Ale can always tame hot temps.
So whether it’s for a beach day, the rec kickball team, or a chill BBQ, scan our picks for the most refreshing summer beers to bring along.
- Summerfest Lager
- Hazy Little Thing IPA
- Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
- Sunny Little Thing Citrus Wheat Ale
- Cryo Fresh Torpedo
- Wild Little Thing Slightly Sour Ale
- Summer Break IPA
Summerfest Lager
Cool down with the best beer for hot weather.
Available April–July
This refreshing pilsner is timed for summer’s sizzle, when all you want is a crispy champ to beat the heat. Summerfest is golden bright, balancing delicate yet complex malt flavor alongside spicy, floral hops and is the perfect beer for the hot summer weather. Hints of lemon zest lead into a dry finish, and the sessionable 5% ABV invites another round.
Hazy Little Thing IPA
Juicy & silky smooth, the most refreshing beer for summer.
Available year-round
Take in its hazy, golden glow. Those foggy depths are a jackpot of juicy hop flavor, like tasty bites of ripe citrus or sweet-tart slices of pineapple.
And while Hazy IPAs can be easy drinking, their creation is rather complex. With Hazy Little Thing, our brewers obsess over the hops and malt making it the most refreshing summer beer. That’s because certain grains — picked for their proteins, beta-glucans, and other beer-nerdy specs — interact with hop compounds called polyphenols to help generate that smooth, refreshing and fruity haze.
But hey, we take care of that tricky science; you just soak up the Hazy summer.
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
It tastes like summer camping, basically.
Available year-round
When he launched Sierra Nevada on “glorified home brewery equipment,” founder Ken Grossman knew he wanted to feature exclusively American ingredients in his flagship Pale Ale. But at the time, American hops fell short — until a newbie changed everything.
“Cascade came out and it was just different than all the rest of them,” Ken says. “We wanted unique and distinctive, and so the Cascade fit that bill.”
Cascade’s famed aroma of pine, citrus and spice define Pale Ale, which promptly started the American craft beer revolution. Almost a half-century later, Pale Ale remains the gold standard for the style, balancing caramel malt and bold hops, and having a magnetic pull toward coolers destined for outdoor adventure. Pitch the tent, then reach for Pale Ale.
Sunny Little Thing Citrus Wheat Ale
Walking on sunshine, sipping on citrus. Easy drinking all day.
Available year-round
It debuted in the Little Things Party Pack, but Sunny Little Thing just landed in solo six-packs. At 5% ABV, this big ball of citrus shines with radiant notes of orange, grapefruit and tangerine. And with virtually no bitterness, there’s no shade on your parade. While plenty of oats and wheat create a smooth finish, there’s hardly a dash of hops, allowing the fruit character to leap forward.
So throw on your shades, open a good summer beer like this, and make Sunny season official.
Cryo Fresh Torpedo
We froze hop harvest in time. 🥶
Available exclusively in the Hoppy Sampler pack
Cryo Fresh™ hops make a wet hop IPA possible, anytime. And Cryo Fresh™ Torpedo® is the first nationally available IPA to feature their extreme notes of citrus, stone fruit, and fresh harvest magic.
Hops hit their peak right when they’re picked, but they fade fast. So the innovators at Yakima Chief Hops set out to keep them fresh, forever. Using freshly picked hops — still undried (“wet”) — Yakima Chief runs a patented cryogenic process to remove the hop leaves and isolate the jackpot inside: pure lupulin, the source of aroma and flavor.
Our special blend of Cryo Fresh hops give Cryo Fresh Torpedo its explosive layers of grapefruit, orange, passion fruit and mango — harvest flavors that are ripe for summer.
Wild Little Thing Slightly Sour Ale
Fruit, flowers & lip-smacking flavor.
Available year-round
Brewed to be a slightly sour beer, Wild Little Thing has that little smack of tartness that’s pure summertime refreshment. What’s more, we drop in guava, hibiscus, and strawberry to give Wild its fruity-sweet depth and amazing pop of color. And if you want to mix it up at the next cookout, make your friends some Wild Little Pink Lemonade and watch their heads explode — yup, that good.
Summer Break IPA
A delicious cannonball of hops and the best IPA for summer.
Available April–July. Exclusively in the Sierra Pack, a variety 24-pack available at club membership stores.
At just 4.6% ABV, Summer Break is brewed for long days of play and easy drinking — whether that’s launching off the rope swing or lounging by the pool. And for all its tropical, juicy notes from six hop varieties, Summer Break backs it up with body — not an easy task for a Session Hazy IPA. Complex malt character, layered with the creaminess of oats and wheat, create Summer Break’s full flavor and mouthfeel.
But it’s the hoppy splash that stands out, and our brewers were strategic with the recipe to make it the best IPA for summer.
“We’re really looking to build in the brewhouse a very solid and very distinctly orange citrus character,” says Scott Jennings, our innovation brewmaster, “and then in the dry-hopping, we’re looking to add on top of that, for aroma, the tropical elements and a little bit of pineyness.”
Time to get outside, with Summer Break as your sidekick.
