Dark Beers for Hot Weather
By Dappered Drinks Correspondent Ben Madeska
Summer’s winding down, but we still got some hot days ahead of us. Here are some dark beers to finish up the summer and transition into fall.
I don’t like summer beers. I don’t like the taste of hops. I’ve tried, but it’s with increasing dread that I anticipate each summer when restaurants and breweries start trotting out their over-hopped monsters and watered-down lights.
I understand that there’s some historic sense to drinking hoppy beer in the summer. Hops act as a preservative, so back when the British Empire had to get barrels of beer to their far-flung colonies it made sense to hop the hell out of them so the beer would survive the sail (hence the ‘India’ in the India Pale Ale).
But in these days of refrigerated freight there’s no reason not to enjoy dark beer year round.
First off, let’s deal with the myth that dark equals heavy. Yes some stouts are made to help you survive Siberian winters, but many people I know who should know better still refer to beers like Guinness as meals in a glass. Guinness Draught has less alcohol than other standard summer beers like Corona and even Miller and Bud Light, and significantly less than most Pale Ales and IPAs. In my experience a cold pint of Guinness is one of the most refreshing drinks available on a hot day.
Dark beers go great with summer food too. Beyond anything off the grill, from hamburgers to tuna, the lighter stouts and porters are natural match for shellfish. I highly recommend trying them with raw oysters. I once had a waiter try to talk me out of this, claiming the Edmund Fitzgerald Porter from Great Lakes I ordered would overwhelm the delicate taste of the oysters. This porter is so tasty and easy to drink, I think it’d go with just about everything, and it only improved the oysters. Don’t be intimidated by cowardly waiters. They are not to be trusted.
A favorite and readily available dark summer beer is Negra Modelo, a Munich style Dunkel Lager. This comes out of Mexico and is usually the best beer choice at Mexican restaurants. The taste is touch sweet with flavors of caramel and molasses and, like most darker beers, pairs great with mole poblano sauce. For a step up in quality in this style of beer try Warsteiner’s Premium Dunkel.
Smoked beers, like Stone’s Smoked Porter, can be acquired tastes. Some taste like nothing so much as a kielbasa smoldering in a campfire. Just a touch of smoke in a porter like this one from Stone, however, makes it a perfect compliment to BBQ.
Good article overall, but I’m not sure why you are implying that alcohol content is the main factor in determining whether a beer is “heavy” or not. Guinness isn’t called heavy because it’s high in alcohol (it’s very low, as you mention), rather because of the thick mouthfeel. It’s not something I want to be gulping down on a hot day in the sun, if for no other reason than because that thickness makes it tough to quickly drink.
I love Modelo. As for Guinness, check out out this Three Sheets episode of Jamaica: http://www.hulu.com/watch/12721/three-sheets-jamaica#s-p10-so-i0 Guinness is big there, evidently.
Completely agree with you on Guinness being one of the most refreshing beers. I can drink it year round. So many people insist on associating dark with heavy. Guinness is not thick. In fact the smoked porter you listed will have a much bigger mouthfeel than Guinness. One of the biggest things that affects people’s perceptions of Guinness is that it is served using nitrogen rather than Co2. It is also carbonated to a very low volume to begin with, so unlike light yellowy American lagers that are so carbonated they jump off your tongue, Guinness lays down so you taste every bit of its deliciousness. It is the same reason that Guinness is less filling than even the lightest of lagers. High carbonation causes bloating and fullness.
I would also add to your list:
New Belgium 1554. It’s a solid black ale. Not as refreshing as some of the dark lagers out there, but easy to find in most states.
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/1914
Avery Seventeen:
Avery’s anniversary ale. It is definitely on the hoppier side of things, and like most beers they make, it is big coming in at nearly 9%ABV, but all that considered, it still drinks easy on a summer night.
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30/58470
Lastly, while there are very few widely available dunkelweizens in the states, if you are lucky enough to have a local brewery with some German influence, dunkelweizen is tops for dark summer beer styles.
I’m a big fan of dark beer. But then again, I live in Portland, Or, so I like the big hoppy beers as well. I also wanted to mention that the Guiness Draught is only about 125 calories, which is comparable to the “lite” beers, with 10 times the flavor.
@John – New Belgium’s 1554 is delicious.
I have to strongly disagree with your profile of summer beers. I dislike them equally, yet I in no way find them too hoppy. I love hoppy beers, and summer ales, IMO, are extra malty and sweet, with a lower hop profile. Lots of breweries brew reds in the summertime, and thats just too much sweetness for me. give me a pale or IPA any summer day and my thirst is quenched. I think summer is a good time for the lagers, i’m not talking about continental like budweiser, but more of a , very refreshing. Pilsners also take the cake for a summer beer. is a good example by redhook. I do love all the beer you listed though. Porters are excellent, especially during the winter when you need something to warm up the blood. I like Black Butte by Deschutes