Top 5 Beers for Summer 2021

April 7th is National Beer Day, which gives us the perfect excuse to crack open a cold one on a Wednesday. However, if you don’t want to drink alone in your basement midweek, here are my top 5 beers for the upcoming summer. Before I trigger every single IPA drinker, this list is more of what I expect to see people drinking this summer (when they aren’t drinking seltzers). It’s a list of the beers I think will be popular due to brand recognition, trends, and taste.

5. Landshark Lager

Landshark is brewed in Jacksonville, Florida, and contains an ABV of 4.6%. It originally launched in 2006 as the house lager for the “Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville” restaurant chain. For this reason, it became extremely popular and not just because of Jimmy Buffet. It has great taste and is even better with a slice of lime. It’s definitely a summer beer, so be prepared to see some at the next BBQ you attend.

4. Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy

Brewed in Milwaukee, Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy is 4.2% ABV. This is another immensely popular summer beer as it’s a summer shandy with a natural lemonade flavor. On their website, they say it pairs well with foods such as BBQ chicken, fruit salads, watermelon, and freshly caught, grilled fish. Another BBQ favorite.

3. Blue Moon

One of my personal favorites, Blue Moon is a Belgian White that is 5.4% ABV and was originally brewed in Golden, Colorado. If you’re drinking Blue Moon, make sure to have an orange because you’re going to want a slice on the edge of your glass. It’s easily one of the most popular and recognizable beers and has great taste, so expect to see plenty of them this summer.

2. Corona

As bad a rep as COVID has given to Corona, I still expect to see plenty of people drinking this cerveza this upcoming summer. Whether it be Corona Light (4.0% ABV) or Corona Extra (4.6% ABV) this is a classic summer beer that’s perfect for the beach (or at least that’s what they want you to think by their commercials). Honestly, I think the taste is a little overrated, and it should be lower on this list, but it’s such a popular name that I had to put it at 2. Just make sure to have sliced limes on deck.

1. Bud Light Lime/Lemonade/Orange

Bud Light is probably the most popular brand of beer. For this reason, people will buy anything they put out. Bud Light Lime/Lemonade/Orange are all 4.2% ABV. I have yet to try to the lemonade flavor, but the lime and orange taste amazing. This is a beer that you will see everywhere this summer.

Honorable Mention: Samuel Adams Summer Ale

I haven’t tried their summer ale, but this is sure to be a big seller as well. Sam Adams is a huge name and people buy anything with “summer” in the name during the summer. This citrus wheat ale is 5.3% ABV and is sure to be a popular choice.

So there are my top 5 beer choices for the summer. Whether you agree with it or not, I think we can all agree that we want this to be a normal summer full of BBQs and only one type of Corona (the beer).