The Beers of Summer--Part 1--Southern Tier Brewing Company

It looks like warmer weather is finally here to stay, and that's good news for beer nuts who enjoy the lighter (!) beers of the season. Here's the first of a series on The Beers of Summer 2018. It features three beers now available from Southern Tier Brewing Co. in Lakewood, NY.

When you live in Jersey across from Staten Island, there are usually only three directions you can take on your motorcycle to find good roads--west, north and south. You could, I suppose, go East if you wanted to pay $30 in bridge tolls to get to Long Island, where you'd have the privilege of sitting long hours in traffic on the aptly-named Southern State Parkway before you'd get to the Hamptons or Montauk. But the idea is to ride, not sit.

So when my choice is South, I usually take the GSP to get down to those nice farm roads in the Allentown area. But--tip alert-- I don't jump on the GSP in Sayreville. I skip the toll at 125 and get to travel from Exit 120 to 100 free. To do that, one simply needs to take Rt. 35 through South Amboy, then hang a right in Laurence Harbor.

But there's also a good place to hang a right on Rt. 35 long before that. It's at a place called The Alehouse Tavern and Tap. And yesterday, it was where I sampled three excellent, though very different, beers from one of my favorite breweries--Southern Tier.

I had written about the Alehouse Tavern and Tap previously when it opened six years ago. Jason was still there deciding which beers he would offer to his customers, and these were three he was considering.

You can read about 3 Citrus here, Lemon Drop Sun here and 8 Days a Week here.

The PubScout's impressions are these:

Eight Days a Week--a ballsy, malty blonde ale, which happened to win the category at the recent AC BeerFest. Only 4.8% ABV, it's definitely sessionable and satisfying, and it comes in an eight-pack, because a beer that's "Infinitely Drinkable" has to come in a size greater than a six or a four.

Lemon Drop Sun-- dubbed "The Shandy-Killer," this is an absolutely refreshing beer that is neither shandy-nor-radler- sweet. But, at just 5.1%, it, too, is totally sessionable and very thirst-quenching and satisfying. A few of these after some summer yard work may make that oft-dreaded task somewhat less onerous, for sure.

3 Citrus Peel Out--it's an Imperial Wheat that registers 8.5% on the Richter scale. Loaded with flavors of blood orange and tangerine, it has a slightly bitter finish that hopheads should appreciate. Very tasty, but if you're quaffing this one after yard work, stay in the yard.

In sum, all three are excellent summer beers to incorporate into your summer activities, whether it's yard work, just beaching it, backyard BBQ'ing it, or watching beach volleyball live. Perfect for cornhole tournaments (this geezer still can't get past that term), they will surely quench that summer thirst. Just don't expect much accuracy if you're downing that 3 Citrus Peel Out in any quantity.

Stay tuned for the next part of Summer Beers!

Cheers!

The PubScout

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