Ah yes, the Fourth of July, that perfect long weekend of sun, bbq and, of course, beer! We can't think of any other day that really signifies the kick off of summer. With that in mind we put together a great lineup of beers guaranteed to get your summer off to the right start. For this installment we've got some of our perennial favorites as well as some new beers we've recently come across that we think you all need to check out. All right, enough talking, on to the beer.

Victory Lager

It would have just seemed wrong not to pick a beer called Victory Lager on Independence Day. What better way to celebrate our victory than by drinking a Victory? We actually had this first at a stout and porter dinner. Yes we're well aware this is neither a stout nor a porter, it was an appetizer beer if you will. The fact is this beer is incredibly easy drinking. Grab an extra 6 pack because when you friends try it they'll want to ditch their regular light beer for this  

Appearance - Clear, honey gold, fluffy white head. Looks delicious on a hot day
Smell - Sweet... a little like wild flower honey. But it's a light smell...

Taste - Quite light in the hops with a little biscuity malt... very little. This is just drink on a hot day beer. You could put quite a few away without fatigue! Overall a super clean lager.

Note: Jeff's apartment was REALLY hot on the day we did this article. Devon drank half a pint in about 10 seconds... yeah, it's that good.



Boulder Beer Company Mojo Risin' Double IPA

The reason we went with a double IPA for a summer event? Well, it's Independence Day! It's when we declared independence from Great Britain. The IPA is a British style... the double IPA is a style we stole and made better! More hops! More malt! More alcohol! More of everything, it's the American way. Plus, Mojo Risin'? This particular one was named after an American rock star... one who was way cooler than the Beatles might we add... The Lizard King himself! Mr. Mojo Risin', Jim Morrison!

Appearance - Copper and clear... off white head.
Smell - Smells like the hop room at Bell's Brewing Company in Michigan (this is just the biggest, most packed full of hops hop room we've ever been in... it probably smells like most hop rooms)... Plus a little alcohol and sweet malt.

Taste - Hoppy up front... not too bitter, but hoppy. Well balanced by quite sweet malt. Alcohol definitely shows through a bit, though.

This is a good pick for a double IPA on the 4th of July, though. It's not overly bitter or anything, so it won't destroy your mouth.

So you're confused now, we said we were giving you awesome cans and now all you've seen is two bottles. Well we're moving on to the cans now. Why cans? Ever wonder why your beer gets all skunky and nasty when left outside? It's light. Guess what light can't get in to? Cans. Yup, that's right cans keep your beer fresher. Not only that but their great around the pool, beach, fishing etc. Sounds like a perfect beer for the 4th if you ask us, and since you're still reading you must care what we have to say!

Butternuts Heinnieweisse Weissebier

Why Butternuts? Because it's really really good and you get to say Butternuts. We'd almost recommend it because you can say Butternuts all day but that fact that it's a kick ass beer makes Butternuts a no brainer.   

Appearance - Hazy yellow. White head... looks like most weisse beers.
Smell - German weisse yeast... Banana-y. It smells light and summery... wet grass after rain.

Taste - A little lime... Light, refreshing, crisp, tasty. Yeast is the predominant flavor, with a slight hint of light malt. Pretty delicious! This is one of the lighter weissbiers we've had and that's great for summer weather. Don't let the can fool you, this is some seriously tasty beer.

Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale

Yeah, we've featured this before, and for good reason. It's freakin awesome. Add in the fact that it's a red white and blue can and it becomes a great bbq beer for the 4th. This is a hoppy one and it's great with some BBQ or spicy food.

Appearance: Medium amber with a nice light head
Smell: Hops, some more hops, then a bit of malt

Taste: BIG amarillo hop flavor followed by some nice smooth malts.

New England Brewing Co. Atlantic Amber

Appearance: Pours dark amber with a reddish hue and an inch of off-white head.
Smell: Very mild, very slight hint of hops, light malt

Taste: Slightly sweet malt. Very easy drinking. Barely there hops to balance the sweet. This is just a very smooth, easy drinking beer. Grab a sixer for yourself, and then another to share with friends.





Narragansett Lager

This is a very simple beer. Macro style flavor, but better. Available in 12 oz bottles as well 12 and 16oz cans. We prefer the 16oz cans especially on a hot day. This beer is very mild in flavor which makes it very nice to quench your thirst on a toasty day.

Boston, MA -  This June the Harpoon Brewery, brewers of Harpoon and UFO beers, will introduce the Harpoon Leviathan Series, a limited edition line of specialty beers.  The Leviathan Series is an exploration in brewing big beers for adventurous palates.  The first beer in the series, Leviathan Triticus, will debut at the inaugural American Craft Beer Fest on June 20th and 21st in Boston.

“The Leviathan Series is a way for us to experiment with stronger flavors and bigger beers,” says Harpoon CEO and co-founder Rich Doyle.  “We have always wanted to challenge ourselves as brewers and offer our drinkers a broader range of taste and styles.”

Latin for "wheat," Triticus is a strong and dark wheat wine-style ale that boasts 14.3% alcohol-by-volume. The blend of 50% wheat malts, including caramel and chocolate, provides color and depth of flavor. Complex hopping and dry-hopping lends a delicate spiciness and just enough balance to complement its strength.  Once brewed, the Triticus was transferred to 50-gallon bourbon barrels and aged at the brewery for over 2 months.

Harpoon originally brewed Triticus in 2005 with guest brewers Jason and Todd Alstrom, founders of BeerAdvocate.com, as part of Harpoon’s 100 Barrel Series.  In a nod to the Alstroms, Leviathan Triticus will debut at next weekend’s American Craft Beer Fest at the Seaport  World  Trade  Center.  The ACBF is the largest craft beer festival produced in the Northeast with more than 75 craft brewers pouring a variety of 300 beers.

Leviathan beers will be brewed in 120-barrel batches. The beers will be available in 4-packs and on draft for distribution, excluding the Triticus which will be available on draft only.  The second beer in the series, an Imperial IPA, will be released in September 2008. 

Founded in 1986 on Boston’s waterfront, the Harpoon Brewery distributes its locally brewed products throughout the Northeast.  In 2000 Harpoon purchased a second brewery in Windsor, VT to keep up with the growing demand.  Harpoon’s line of craft beer features six year-round beers, including their award-winning IPA and UFO Hefeweizen beers, and four special seasonal selections.  In 2003, Harpoon introduced a line of limited edition beers brewed by every few months by a different Harpoon brewer called the Harpoon 100 Barrel Series.  In 2007 Harpoon introduced Harpoon Cider, an all-natural hard cider made from freshly pressed, local apples.

For more information about the American Craft Beer Fest visit http://beeradvocate.com/acbf/.

Every once and a while you come accross something that isn't your average beer festival. In this case we were contacted by Fred Thibodeaux about the Central Florida Beer Fest . Now we often get contacted about a lot of things, but this is a little different. This fest is looking to raise $50K for charity. So for all our Florida readers check this one out! Full press release bellow:

Orlando Young Professionals will be hosting the 2008 Central Florida Beer Festival.  The purpose of OYP is to encourage and facilitate a meaningful exchange of information and perspectives relative to the Orlando economic region and provide members with increased opportunities to foster quality business and personal relationships. 

The festival is intended to raise over $50,000 for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Central Florida.  The donation by the festival will be used to improve the lives of children through professionally supported one-to-one mentoring relationships with measurable impact.  The vision of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Central Florida is to provide a quality, adult volunteer mentor to every Central Florida Child who wants or needs one.  The donations will help with mentoring services, and assisting youth in achieving their highest potential as they grow to become responsible, productive, happy, and healthy young men and women.

The festival will also be benefiting 911 Cell Phone Banks by providing an on-site cell phone deposit box.  Participants will be able to donate used cell phones to the charity and in return will receive raffle tickets that will be part of a drawing for multiple prizes and gift cards.  The cell phones will be used to provide an ongoing readily available source of emergency cell phones and funds to meet unexpected and urgent needs of participating law enforcement and affiliated victim services agencies.  With the help of the festival 911 Cell Phone Bank will continue to generate thousands of dollars and provide thousands of emergency cell phones for victim services organizations nationwide.

The Central Florida Beer Festival is Orlando’s premier celebration of golden beverage and an effective branding/sampling forum where brewers and consumers gather to taste and toast the many world-class beers available in Florida.  The event will be focused on providing a venue for beer enthusiasts to compare and rate their favorite and unfamiliar beers and brewers while enjoying the atmosphere of the beautiful Central Florida Fairgrounds.  This is a tasting event where each participant will be limited to a 4oz serving of beer from each exhibitor.  Improper behavior will not be tolerated and participants will be removed from the premises by on-site security if necessary.

Please contact the management department if you should have any questions or concerns pertaining to the event.

We thank you for this opportunity to provide a venue that will contribute to hundreds of children and victim services agencies.

Respectfully,
Fred Thibodeaux