I don’t want to put a downer on your day but it’s time we faced facts – summer is almost over. Chin up, there’s no need to be glum. I know the deluge of the last few days probably has you reaching into the back of your cupboard for darker beers but I’m confident we can still squeeze out a few more warm days and nights before autumn sets in good and proper.
In order to sustain the Great British Summer for as long as possible, I implore you to drink lots of lager. Yes, lager. I’m not talking about the mass produced, adjunct-laden lager you used to drink when you went clubbing in the late 90s though. There’s a brilliant lager revolution happening all around us. More and more brewers are discovering the beauty in the subtlety of the world’s most popular beer style.
Although some of the most popular brewers in the UK and US are having a crack at imitating the best German Helles and Czech Pilsners around, it’s important to never forget the classics. One of my favourites is the indomitable Lagerbier Hell from Munich’s Augustiner-Bräu.
When you pour this straw-pale beer, make sure you give yourself at least an inch of foam at the top of your glass. This will allow the beer to release its grassy, lemon pith aroma. When you taste it there’s an initial note of freshly baked white bread, which is soon snapped away by a rasping, herbal bitterness.
For me, this beer encapsulates summer. In fact I’d suggest if it’s still pouring with rain outside, that you pour yourself one of these, close your eyes and imagine you’re sat in a sun-drenched Bavarian beer garden, soaking up the last of the summer sun.
You can find more from beer writer Matthew Curtis at his excellent beer blog, Total Ales, and Good Beer Hunting, and on Twitter @totalcurtis.