The Beer Coach

Summer is fast approaching! And not to be repetitive of every other, summer is here article, you’ve read but…. What is better than a beer on a patio in the sun? It’s just so satisfying.

What am I–someone who is constantly assessing and judging beer–reaching for to really enjoy this time around in the summer of 2026? The beer landscape has been volatile the last few years, and not in a good way. Fewer beer drinkers and fewer breweries, we have fewer options all around. But beer lovers are still out there! And we deserve excellent beer! I am always looking for the new and the original and here I am to voice my opinion and share some fun facts along the way. 

Style research and opinions to follow!

#1 The New Zealand Pilsner

The first beer I am ordering if I see it on any menu is a New Zealand Pilsner. I am expecting an enticing and complex bouquet of aromas with tropical fruit, guava, peaches and white wine notes that leads into a balanced flavor of soft, bready malt, just enough bitter bite and honeydew or citrus hop flavor with a clean crisp finish. Now I want a second sip; or pint!

This beer feels like the first time you put on your soft linen pants in the early summer, am I right? The temperature is going up, summer Fridays are in session and it is time to decompress a little with your friends.

The hallmarks of the style are its refreshing hop forward quality while being amazingly drinkable. And those hops pack a punch! They are more modern than what you find in its German, Czech or even Italian brethren, they are often referred to as “new world” hops. We are talking Motueka, Riwaka, Nelson Sauvin, or maybe some Pacific Jade for healthy bittering.

The style is said to have originated in New Zealand (shocker) at the Emerson’s Brewery in the early to mid 1990’s modeled after a traditional Euro pilsner but using hops native to New Zealand while also using dry hopping techniques that were more often found in IPAs at the time. From there it proliferated across the country and quickly jumped to the craft crazy US market.

It still is only a provisional style in the BJCP guidelinesbut that doesn’t stop some great brews of this style from being made! I am always searching and when I find one I will be sure to order it!

As a bonus, when I am visiting a new brewery for the first time, I find lagers or pilsners the best brew to order. My reasoning, if they are a dialed-in brewery team that puts care into what they are putting out, their lagers are going to be clean. If I order a lager and the first thing I get is fermentation issues, I know I can move on to the next brewery on my list and not miss out on too much! It is my canary in the coal mine if you will. 

But this is about what I want to reach for not what I don’t want in my beer, so next on my list is,

#2 A Sessionable East Coast Style IPA

This next style isn’t really a real style per se but more of a vibe. So let’s break it down into its components.

First the sessionable part. Let’s go back to why I am reaching for this beer, the weather is turning and I am sitting on a patio with friends. I live in the northeast so for me this means I am finally coming out of hibernation. It has been a long winter and I want to enjoy the sun and the conversation. I want this afternoon to last!

I am not going to make it past an hour or two if I am consuming 8% beer after 8% beer! I am not a very large person, while I may (or may not, depending on the day) have an above average tolerance, that doesn’t mean I will not be intoxicated after two hearty pints! Sessionable is the first key box I need to check!

Next, IPA is an obvious one, this is the most popular craft beer style out there. Of course I enjoy it! Notably, the hazy or New England IPA are truly the cool kids on the block these days, but that isn’t exactly what I am after.

The general IPA style is known for its hop forward balance with bitterness being a key component. And that is more what I want to mix in to keep this vibe vibing for me.

Lastly I am using the terminology “East Coast Style”, so vague, I am aware. The mood I am trying to put out with that phrasing is the use of the hops from the IPAs I “grew up” on. Most notably they featured aroma and flavor from the hops along with a sturdy hop backbone. Multiple dynamic uses in one tasty glass.

In my mind these beers landed somewhere in between those hop bombs of ye old times, when the IBU race was active, and the more recent New England IPA hazy crazy, where aroma and flavor is what it’s all about.

I am thinking of a Hoptical Illusion of Blue Point Brewing or Flower Power from Ithaca for example. Although those are just examples of the USE of the hops which is the key. They are not quite the modern hops I am REALLY after. I am a modern woman after all.  

So, stringing that all together I am looking for a lower alcohol content IPA, thinking sub 5%. I want that IPA to be clear or only slightly hazy. And I want it to feature hop aroma and flavor without giving up on the bitter bite at the end.

I am avoiding ordering anything identified as hazy or New England style on the menu, sorry. I am not looking for a thick mouthfeel here! It’s hot out, and I have some chatting to do! Honestly, my success rate can vary on finding this gem, but when breweries get it right, they get it right. With modern hopping techniques and all the hop varieties available to brewers, the options and flavor combinations are endless. 

Ideally this IPA is using US or new world hops, some great combination of citrus, and tropical fruit with a bit of pine and resin really knocks it out of the park for me. And, not to be too picky, but it has to have a supportive malt character as well. I am not looking for a pale ale so leave the biscuit and character malt at home, some breadiness, and cracker notes would be great, I need to know it’s there. Finally, add in a nice clean fermentation that finishes dry and refreshing and we are there! Afterall, I am on a patio. I am going to want to hang around and have a second or a third.

Speaking of third, the last beer style I am going to be reaching for this summer is a,

#3 Grisette

‘Tis the season after all! A Grisette might be the most esoteric beer on my list, but its cousin the Saison is more familiar and the title of that beer family does mean season. Saisons are generally brewed in the fall and held for summer consumption, so it is time to drink um up! 

Grisette translates to “little grey” in French. The style is believed to have originated in the French speaking region of Belgium. The origin of the name hasn’t been nailed down but there are few variations on where it may have come from.

The Hainaut Province where it was consumed was a mining region in the early 1800’s when the style was popularized, so the name is either related to the grey dust that must have covered everything in the town, or it came from the grey dresses worn by the women in the taverns serving the brew. I would also extrapolate that the “little” part refers to the ABV since this beer is traditionally low in alcohol sitting in the 3% to 5% range.

Why is this beer at the top of my list this summer? Well if you haven’t caught on yet, I am going for drinkability. That low ABV is a huge draw for me. Another attractive quality is the high attenuation. For the non brewers in the room, that means this beer has a very dry and refreshing finish, something I am quite drawn to as well.

Unlike the other brews I have discussed, this beer’s yeast is putting in a lot of legwork on the flavor profile. Belgian yeast puts off a hefty amount of flavors in the finished product. Saisons are known for their fruit and spice forward character. Grisette is specifically known for a more spicy quality, technically defined as a phenolic. A touch less fruity (or ester forward) than other cousins in the saison family tree.

This delightful little sipper was almost lost to us beer nerds in the 1960’s when mass market lagers became all the rage. Luckily I see it coming back into style in the modern craft era. I have especially seen it in the spring and summer months at small breweries around the East Coast, as that is where I am drinking. The flavor can vary quite a bit from brewery to brewery, so what do I expect?

Most versions I have come across contain wheat, as they should, it is traditional. Rustic is a term I would use for most, it is a farmhouse, blue collar worker beer after all. Light, dry and citrusy with some peppery phenolics. And I am a happy miner, I mean camper, or patio dweller, whatever!

So, that is what I am reaching for this summer, how about you? I hope I have inspired you to try something new, branch out and adventure into a new area of the beer family tree when ordering on your favorite patio this season! If you find something great that I have to try, let me know!  Cheers!