Independence Day Beer!

[The Beer Philosopher]

Today is my Friday! Such is the case for many hard-working beer lovers ... tomorrow is the 4th of July and we celebrate our nation's independence with a day off work!
I'll take it, I don't know about you!

Thinking about having a three day weekend and realizing that it will surely be hot and very likely a little rainy for the duration I am contemplating my beer choices for the festivities that will ensue ... soggy or not. The rain is not so much the factor; it's the heat. Oh, the heat. I'm every bit the beer geek that the next guy is (arguably more so), but 90 degree + weather does not put me in the mood for high gravity and/or heavy beers. I don't want the extra alcohol and I definitely don't want something that is going to weigh on the palate like a bowling ball.

Call me carzy.

So, I ask myself, "self? What beers do you plan to drink over the Independence Day holiday?" Here is my short list of beers I plan to drink, or will hope to drink assuming I can find them:

Anchor Liberty Ale (in honor of the occasion, of course)
O'Fallon Wheach
Brewery Ommegang Hennepin
New Belgium Mothership Wit
Unibroue Ephemere (probably the apple)

So, what am I missing? What are your choice Independence Day beers?

[Eli the Mad Beer Man]

Anything that ends in "er"... like beer.

Seriously though... this falls to the seasonal beer drinker, such as myself. I already don't like dark beers during the summer. Even more so when the mercury rises into the 80's. I'm a big ole Croat, so I can break a sweat inside an igloo in the heart of an Alaskan winter. Last thing I need is to help my body heat hit the danger zone so it's all about the light colored brews. High ABVs are irrelevant no matter what time of year it is though. ;)

By the way... SEND MORE WHEACH! That's a GREAT summer brew. ;)

Have you had NB's Mothership on tap? There is, to the buds in my pie hole, a vast difference in taste. I like the bottle, but the tap is nasty. Maybe it was a bad tap, but I seriously doubt it considering where I had it. Have that experience?

[Ian McCarver]

I have Samuel Adams Boston Ale and Anchor Liberty Ale

[The Beer Philosopher]

Nope, no draught NB in So. Illinois. We only have Fat Tire, 1554 and Mothership in 12 and 22oz bottles. No taps, no cans. I wonder if this is how the Cali folk feel about the limited Dogfish Head selection now available in their state. Something is certainly better than nothing, but it does leave you wanting more ...

Worse on tap, huh? Hmmm. I wonder if it has anything at all to do with pasteurization? Maybe the organic ingredients go a little funky on tap, but shouldn't be the case if the establishment wherein you had this foul beer keeps up on their line cleaning and refrigeration ...

I'll stick to the bottles, by choice and necessity.

[Virgil G]

I'll be heading over to Meat's place for beer sampling. I'm not sure what all beer he's got planned, but he's got 9 that he/we haven't had before. I've got a couple of others in the fridge that I'll be bringing along.

There's also plans for a group brewing during the day ("hey you wanna stir?" "time to add more hops... wooo hooo"), as we've got an expected high of 79 tomorrow. At 79 degrees, it's not too hot for any style of beer.

[Homebrew_Rob]

We will be drinking from a 5 gal. keg of Speakeasy Brewing's Prohibition Ale! Thanks IPA_Drinker!

[Ron Gansberg]

I'm picking a Belgian Ardennes Wheat Pale for the 4th of July. It's made with 40% raw white wheat from Pendleton OR. The hops are Saaz, Tettnang, and Cascade. The beer came in at 1052 sg and finished at 1015 sg. My other two choices are our ZomerWit made with raw wheat, coriander, bitter orange peel and spices and Razberry wheat, a lactic beer made with NW raspberries and malted wheat. Live free, drink wiley.
Servus!
Ron

[Dan Leithauser]

Well, this week I was reviewing the Zymurgy survey list and wanting some of those Bell's products! But, alas, in Montana, distribution is poor. I cannot remember the last time I saw a Stone or Goose Island product. Oh well. My 5....

Fullers 1845
Avery Maharaja Imperial IPA
Deschutes Inversion IPA
Ommegang Three Philosophers
and some Orval.

I am sure there will be Big Foot and a Caldera product in there somewhere.
We'll see.

[Beerbuddha]

This will sound odd but I'll be drinking some Yuengling. Actually I'll be drinking a lot of Yuengling. I normally can't get it in Louisiana so I picked up a case during my trip to Florida. Yes, yes I know it's not "craft" beer. BUT, it is a descent beer and I can drink a lot of it AND it's pretty inexpensive at $8.99/12-pack. PLUS it's truly American. Oldest brewery in America. At least that's what the bottle tells me. What better to drink than that on the 4th of July? ; ) Everybody have a great 4th!!

[The Beer Philosopher]

I like Yuengling lager. Not a thing wrong with that ... how dare they make too much beer to be called a "craft" brewer! We gotta support our American brewers this Independence Day weekend ... they're becoming scarce.

[The Beer Philosopher]

Oh, Bigfoot ... not a bad idea at all. I have some '06, '07 and '08 (or is it '05, '06 and '07 ... oh well) in the cellar. I believe I may feel a vertical tasting coming on this weekend.

[Michael from MidwestMicrobrews]

I just made my trip to the store to purchase my "supplies" for the extended weekend....

Central Waters Brewing's Lac Du Bay IPA
Sprecher Brewing's IPA2 Double IPA
Furthermore Brewing's Fattty Boombalatty Belgian Ale

Luckily, I still have some others left over from the visit of my future father-in-law who brought me...
Surly Brewing's Bender (mix of brown/porter/apa)
Brau Brothers' Frame Straightener Belgian Ale

Of course, I'll be watching the Green Bay fireworks from the patio outside of Titletown Brewing, drinking a Hopasaurus Rex.

Ahhhh, holidays.

Happy Birthday America!
Michael
MidwestMicroBrews

[Bobby Beerman]

Having not made a trip in a while I would have to rely on local stock (as sad as it is). Sam Adams, I think I saw some Liberty Ale at Pinch, if I can get it here some O'Fallon Weach. If I tap into my stocks I still have some Pyramid Apricot Weizen Ale.

But, besides beer, there is the other big B - Barbeque!! I plan on having those beers with some smoked brisket and pork loin. The joys of having two smokers going at the same time!!