10 Best Summer Beers for Summer (or Pretending It’s Summer)

The best summer beers are the coldest ones you can find at the bottom of the cooler. But, ideally, the one you crack open also tastes great. The best way to assure that is to stock your cooler with the best summer beer we found after multiple taste tests. Then, no matter what you grab, you’ll know you’re drinking the best beer for summer, in terms of both temperature and taste.

While I would have loved to spend a month tasting any beer that remotely qualified as a summer beer (pretty much anything that isn’t a stout, Oktoberfest, Christmas beer, or pumpkin ale), neither my family nor my employer would have approved that use of my time. Instead, I narrowed down my search to tropical beer, lime beer (or lemon beer), summer fruit beer, and beer that specifically calls out summer on the label. I also tried to look for beers that aren’t necessarily available year-round, though some of these summer beers can be found in the fall and beyond. Summer is a state of mind, man. And I also looked for summer beers that are available at grocery stores. Because, while the local brewery near you might make the best mango double hazy IPA, that doesn’t really help out the majority of the people in the country. 

Here are the best summer beers we tasted, recently updated with a new non-alcoholic beer for IPA lovers, a lemon beer, and a super tropical beer

Best NA Summer IPA

Deschutes Fresh Squeezed India Pale Ale Non-Alcoholic

deschutesbrewery.com

Albertsons

I’ve tasted a lot of non-alcoholic beer (check our best non-alcoholic beer ranking for proof) and this is one of the best  non-alcoholic beers I’ve ever had. It tastes almost exactly like the alcoholic version (which is a very, very good beer). You truly can barely tell the difference. It’s bright and just bitter enough to get your mouth watering. It’s a perfect summer beer if you’re looking for a non-alcoholic IPA to crack open.

Credit: Liv Averett / Deschutes Brewery

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

Best Lemon Beer

Shiner Lemonade Shandy

Target

We tried a few bottled shandies for our most recent update of this ranking, and this came out on top as the best lemon beer to buy. Some of the others tasted like soda. But this one actually tastes like beer—it’s just lemony beer. It tastes like tangy lemon soda mixed with beer. And it’s super-duper refreshing. When you’re hit with 100+ degree weather, reach for this lemon beer.

Credit: Liv Averett / Target

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best Fruity

21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon

Instacart

I remember when this summer beer first came out. It was a huge deal when I found it on tap at a dive bar in NYC’s East Village. We were all amazed by the concept of a watermelon beer that wasn’t super sweet. It was incredible on a sweaty, sticky NYC summer day. And it’s still good now. It’s even more subtly watermelon flavored than I remember—it almost has a cucumbery vibe. It’s refreshing and restrained. A lovely summer beer and certainly worth trying.

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best Session

Lagunitas Island Beats

Target

This summer beer channels tropical flavors like hibiscus, guava, and passion fruit—all with the power of hops! It’s like a magic trick for your mouth! Lagunitas Island Beats is a little bit lighter on the hops than some of the other tropical beers we tried. But it’s definitely not a fruit beer. And this one comes in at 5%, so you can cart a few to the beach and kick back during the day.

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Limey

Dogfish Head SeaQuench

Instacart

There’s a special place in my heart for this beyond limey lime beer. It’s a gose (pronounced goes-uh), which means it’s a sour beer made with salt. If that doesn’t sound good to you, you will not like this beer. That’s okay, there are plenty of other good summer beers for you to try. But if it does sound like something you’d like, you must try it. It’s so limey (it’s made with black limes, so cool) and so salty—like drinking lime-infused sea water. I find it to be so refreshing on a summer day. But you really have to be into the flavors.

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best Non-Alcoholic

Dos Equis Lime & Salt N/A

Total Wine

I can’t believe one of the best summer beers is a non-alcoholic beer, but here we are. “It’s one of my favorite drinks ever,” said managing editor Gwynedd Stuart. It’s so light and limey with just a touch of salt, which makes the slightly sweet lime flavor absolutely sing. It tastes like if a beer met a grown-up, dry soda. It’s gulpable. It’s so good. I’m so happy teetotalers can enjoy a lime beer this summer.

Credit: Liv Averett / Total Wine

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best Wheat

Anderson Valley Summer Solstice

Instacart

While most of the other summer beers on this list tap into beach summer, this one is summer in a valley. It’s coming out onto a front porch, watching the sunset over a field of wheat, fireflies just starting to wake up. It’s wheaty with notes of vanilla and coffee. Rather than trying to taste like summer produce, it tastes like summer warmth itself. And it’s not too banana-y like some wheat beers. Looking for a summer beer that takes you to the prairies? This is the best summer beer to buy.

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best Fruity Tropical Beer

New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Tropic Force

Total Wine

Unlike some of the other tropical beer on this list, this one gets its tropicality from not just hops, but also “natural flavors.” Some might find that offensive (lots of those people are on beer Reddit), but I think it tastes great. It tastes like pineapple and passion fruit and a veritable buffet of tropical fruits. IPA elitists, this is most certainly not for you. But if you’re looking for a tropical beer that’s fruity and packs a punch (it’s 9.5% ABV!), then allow me to introduce you to the summer beer that belongs in your fridge ASAP. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Total Wine

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best Classic

Sierra Nevada Summerfest

Total Wine

Sierra Nevada rarely disappoints. Their summer beer is a super solid pick and abundantly available. It’s incredibly bright with wonderfully fruity flavors—I get a lot of blueberry—even though, once again, no fruit was harmed in the making of this ale. It’s totally crushable. Do not ignore this beer just because it’s been around since 1991. That year also gave us Nirvana’s “Come as You Are,” Jesus Jones’ “Right Here, Right Now,” and, my personal pick, Toad the Wet Sprocket’s “All I Want.” Make yourself a 1991 mix and crack open a Summerfest. Don’t forget to include “Two Princes” by Spin Doctors.

Credit: Liv Averett / Total Wine

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Deschutes Tropical Fresh IPA

Total Wine

This was the best of the tropical beer we tried and the best summer beer over all. It smells like guava (let’s hear it for those magic hops!), but the fruit is very subtle, as is the bitterness from the hops. It’s very, very easy to drink as the best summer beers should be. It’s a perfect IPA for a hammock or a ragin’ party. It’ll take you through the summer, right up until you start feeling that pumpkin beer itch.

Credit: Liv Averett / Total Wine

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Other summer beers we tried: Stone Buenaveza Salt & Lime Lager, Modelo Chelada Limon y Sal, Modelo Chelada Pina Picante, Modelo Chelada Naranja Picosa, Modelo Chelada Mango, 21st Amendment Watermelon Funk, Sam Adams Summer, Two Roads Non Alcoholic Juicy IPA, Two Roads Non Alcoholic American IPA, Bitburger Radler, Steigl Radler Zitrone, Paulaner Munchen Grapefruit Radler, Cali Squeeze Passion Fruit, Cali Squeeze Tangerine Daze, Cali Squeeze Peach Pomegranate, Cali Squeeze Blood Orange, Brooklyn Brewery Summer Ale Sunny Pale Ale