6 Puget Sound Summer Beers For Memorial Day Weekend

GIG HARBOR, WA - For every season, there is a beer. You can drink a high-alcohol stout or scotch ale during a blizzard, or reach for a hefe in fall. As we enter summer and temperatures rise, there are plenty of crisp, ice-cold beer styles that complement activities like grilling, mowing the lawn, and hanging out by the pool.

We've compiled a list of six great summer beers brewed in the Puget Sound area that you should try this Memorial Day (or at any point thereafter). These are by no means the only good summer beers around, so feel free to explore as the weather gets hotter.

7 Seas | Water Chopper Gose
Gose-style beers have been increasing in popularity recently. The 7 Seas take on gose (pronounced goss-ah) is tart, dry, and salty. Gose comes down somewhere between white wine, lemonade, and pilsner, and it tastes great when the weather is really hot.

Silver City | Ziggy Zoggy Summer Lager
You know it's summer when the Ziggy Zoggy starts appearing on shelves. This is a Zwicklerbier, which is an unfiltered lager. Silver City's take is sweet and tart, and is slightly higher in alcohol content than your typical lager.

Chuckanut Brewery | Pilsner
Bellingham's Chuckanut was founded to produce beer in the traditional German styles, and its pilsner does not disappoint. It's a straight-up pilsner that's refreshing, crisp, and pairs well with spicy food (which is, surprisingly, pretty great on a hot summer day).

Cloudburst | Happy Little Clouds (pilsner)
You won't find Cloudburst's take on pilsner in a can or bottle at your local grocery store; you'll have to visit their Seattle taproom near Pike Place Market. But it's worth the trip. That's because the best place to enjoy this pilsner is on a sunny day overlooking Puget Sound.

Fremont Brewing | Summer Ale
An indispensable summer beer that's available almost anywhere around Puget Sound, from Safeway to local bottle shops. If you're ever in doubt, Fremont's sweet, refreshing Summer Ale will satisfy anyone.

Odin Brewing | Freya's Gold Kölsch
The Kölsch style can be tough to get right; some versions turn out too sweet and creamy. But Tukwila's Odin Brewing has created a very tasty version with Freya's Gold. It's a little heavier than a typical lager, so it's a good one to buy in a 22-ounce bottle and enjoy slowly in a stemmed glass.

Want more summer beer recommendations? Other solid local summer brews include Bellevue Brewing's Bohemian Pilsner; Counterbalance's Abigale Blonde Ale; and Optimism's Check pilsner. Have a favorite summer beer that we missed? Let us know by emailing neal.mcnamara@patch.com.

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