What's On Tap: Friday, June 8

With the nice weather this morning, we were inspired to continue our profiles of summer beers. None of these are overwhelming in the taste category, but a summer beer does not have to be.

Alaskan IPA and Alaskan Summer Ale - Alaskan makes some quality brews (God bless their Smoked Porter), and we have really come to enjoy these 2 light drinking beers.

Their Summer Ale is a light German style Kolsch beer that is the perfect 6-pack to grab for your friend's BBQ. There is nothing overwhelming about the beer, it is just a well balanced, and refreshing beer that pairs with just about everything.

Alaskan finally started distributing their IPA this past March. For the NW staple that this brewery has come to be, we were amazed it took so long for them to get this IPA to the masses. The beer is a lightly hopped attempt at a NW IPA, but we enjoy it nonetheless. The light hops actually make this a very refreshing hot weather IPA.

You should have no problem finding Alaskan beers at your closest grocery store.

Snoqualmie Falls Summer Beer - Snoqualmie's take on a summer beer is a very clean and crisp Pils. The use of traditional Czech Saaz hops gives it a nice spicy finish. In contrast, they use a non-traditional clean ale yeast, rather than the usual lager yeast, which gives the beer a slight uniqueness not found in most Pils.

Snoqualmie brews this beer with a bit of maize in the traditional pre-prohibition American Pils style, back when brewers had to use ingredients abundant in North America. The corn imparts just a bit of sweetness that is not found in Bohemian and German Pils.

You can find Snoqualmie Summer Beer at Safeco Field, Bottleworks and possibly your local grocery store.