You can forget those old myths that only cheap beer comes in cans, or that beer from a can tastes like metal. These days, lots of craft breweries are canning their beer, making it easy to take good beer along with you on all kinds of summer activites.
Just in time for barbecues, golfing, beach weekends, or camping, here’s a list of some of excellent beers that are conveniently sold in cans:
21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon – This American wheat beer, brewed with real watermelon, is very refreshing on a hot day, and is only sold in the summer. It has a light wheat flavor, with a slightly tart finish, and isn’t sweet like you might expect.
Founders All Day IPA – This session IPA is perfect for enjoying at any outdoor summer event, at 4.7% ABV. It’s refreshing and light, but with plenty of flavor, from the citrus and pine aroma, to the floral hops you’d expect from an IPA, and a little malt sweetness.
Oskar Blues Ten Fidy – This is a rich, heavy imperial stout, that doesn’t go as well with summer weather, but it’s a very good stout that comes in cans, so I had to include it. It has strong flavors of chocolate, caramel, and roasted coffee, with a smooth malty finish, and a deceptively high 10.5% ABV.
Bell’s Oberon – For years, this summer seasonal was sold only in bottles, but Bell’s has finally started canning it this year. It’s style is a blend of pale ale and wheat ale, with balanced hops and malt, and a slightly spicy citrus aroma, perfect for anytime in the summer.
The Alchemist Heady Topper – If you are a fan of hops, you’ll love this double IPA. They blend six different hops, with distinctly separate flavors, to create a complex, extremely hoppy beer that’s not overly bitter. The down side is that it’s only sold locally near the Vermont brewery, but I have seen it before in a small quantity at Churchkey, so who knows if it’ll make an appearance in DC again some day.
