Summertime Refreshments at Pete's Place
Written: Aug 27 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Light and easy- drinking
Cons: Not very distinct; low foam; very little lemon flavor
The Bottom Line: This is a good summer beer, but other than warm weather, it doesn't really go with much else
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| Bryan_Carey's Full Review: Pete's Summer Brew |
Summertime brings with it many fun pastimes and many seasonal rituals that we look forward to all year long. It’s a time for baseball, barbecued food, cookouts, and vacation travel. It's a time to relax, kick back, and enjoy the fun that the warm weather has to offer.
Many more things make themselves known in summertime, but one of the most important is beer. When the warm weather hits, it’s a time for celebrating with a glass of summer brew, and many brewers have responded to the demand by producing a seasonal product made especially for the summer season. One such product is Pete’s Summer Brew, a product of the Pete’s Brewing Company, one of America’s best- known and best- loved craft breweries.
Basic Characteristics:
This is a light, golden beer, with an aroma of grain, wood, and just a hint of fruit. The body of the beer is light, and crystal clear. The foaminess level is low. The lack of much foam, along with the unusual aroma, does not make this beer seem very appetizing at first (with the exception of the clarity). Of course, you have to remember that summer beers are generally not known for their eye- catching appeal. They are primarily intended to satisfy the thirst- quenching needs of beer drinkers on a hot summer day.
Pete’s summer brew is a little different from the others. This product is actually a pale ale style beer, brewed with a mixture of pale and wheat malts, along with Tettnang hops and a touch of lemon flavor. The result is a beer that tastes grainy and tart with a hop finish that’s distinct and dry, but not bitter. I can barely detect any hint of lemon flavor at all. It clearly indicates, on the label, that there is a touch of lemon, but you could have fooled me!
I decided that, since this product is labeled as containing some lemon, that I would try adding a slice of lemon to my second glass. I found that this did improve the taste somewhat. It added a little more “zing” to the flavor and the sourness of the lemon helped to balance out the overall flavor. It's a balanced taste, even withtout the lemon, with little bitterness or alcohol flavor. The alcohol level in this beer is moderate: 4.6 percent, by volume.
Food Compatibility
This isn’t really the type of beer that pairs well with food. It’s light and easy- drinking, so some would say that it goes well with most any food. But the taste just doesn’t seem that compatible to any particular food product. I think the best way to enjoy this beer is to drink it solo, with or without the lemon. If you add a slice of lemon, the emphasis on the fruit taste then makes it semi- compatible with fruit salads, fruit pies, and a few other light, fruity snacks. But, if drank on its own, it doesn’t really match up very well with any type of food.
Final Thoughts:
This is a tough beer to judge. On one hand, it’s very light, not very appetizing to the olfactory senses, and not that memorable. But, it’s also refreshing and easy to drink on a summer day. It fulfills its intended purpose, as a summer refresher, so in that sense, it seems like a good beer. It also has the Pete’s label, so that means that it should have at least a few redeeming qualities.
Like I stated above, this beer does taste better with an added lemon slice. But any beer should be able to stand on its own first, without the added lemon flavor. The lack of adequate foaminess does take away from the appearance, too, but it also makes for a smoother, easy to drink beer.
I think you can sense my frustration, in rating this beer. If this were a standard lager or pale ale, I would most likely give it a thumbs- down. But, since it’s a summer beer, which by their very nature are intended to be lighter, I’m going to give Pete’s Summer Brew a marginal recommendation. This is by the slimmest of margins, though, and it by no means classifies this beer as one that’s worth seeking out.
Overall, this is an acceptable beer. If you have a chance to try one, go ahead and take a few sips and see what you think. And if there’s any lemon handy, add a slice of the fruit, to enhance the flavor.
Pete’s Summer Brew is a halfway decent product for summertime, but not for much else.
Recommended:
Yes
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