The long, tall cool ones

Summer beers and the time is right for the ACBF in the street

You really have to feel very sorry for those unfortunates who utter the unthinkable words, “I don’t like beer.” As sad as that fact is at any other time of the year, it’s utterly tragic during summer, when an ice-cold brew not only quenches thirst, but also mellows a heat-ravaged temperament.  It’s time to put down that heavy stout and get to know some great summer brews. The Beer Advocate brings its American Craft Beer Fest to Boston’s Seaport World Trade Center, where around 75 brewers from across the nation will feature over 30 different beers between them.  

Among those will be Nantucket’s Cisco Brewers (www.ciscobrewers.com), sampling The Grey Lady (4.5 percent alcohol by volume), which has only been “off-island” for a few months. It’s named after its native land. Nantucket is often bathed in so much fog, it’s nicknamed The Grey Lady. It’s a classic Belgian witbier, with the thick cloudiness of this unfiltered style, and a lot of fizz. This wheat beer includes grapefruit, lemon and lime in the mash and adds a chamomile finish. The flavor is quite dense: malty, but not too sweet, with a slight bitterness, lots of floral notes and a hint of spice, like clove.

Cambridge Brewing Company  (www.cambridgebrewingcompany.com), based in Kendall Square, will show off its new, and beautifully named, L’Amour du Jour (4.5 percent alcohol by volume), or the love of the day. This delicious unhopped beer is one to love all summer. It’s brewed with jasmine, lavender, chamomile and orange blossoms and fermented with Belgian yeast. It’s a very light-bodied brew with a subtle perfumed aroma and crisp finish, with evocative flower blossom notes. 

Leinenkugels (www.leinie.com) isn’t showing at the Craft Beer Fest, but since its release last year, the Wisconsin-based brewery’s Summer Shandy (4.2 percent alcohol by volume) is one of the most popular summer choices. Shandy is beer —  in England, traditionally a pale ale, but now usually lager — topped up (often 50-50) with carbonated lemonade. In the U.K., it’s a beer drink for those who don’t like beer and was thought a polite ladies or even children’s drink, especially in summer. Leinenkugel’s blends wheat beer with lemonade, extra citrus flavor and a touch of Wisconsin honey. It’s light, with a strong, immediate lemon flavor. Its purpose is to refresh; it works. Nicely done. 

American Craft Beer Fest
Friday and Saturday
Seaport World Trade Center
Seaport Boulevard, Boston
MBTA: Silver Line to Waterfront
$40, 21 +, 877-725-8849
www.beeradvocate.com