Local breweries offer easy-going summer sippers

Opinion

Heading into the second half of summer, a number of local craft breweries have introduced or brought back fun, easy-going brews for enjoying outdoors (poor air quality notwithstanding).

For your consideration, here’s a six-pack of such beers in a range of styles, presented roughly from lightest to heaviest.

Back once again is the One Great City Cuke Lil’ Number Cucumber and Lime Gose (Winnipeg — $4.29/473ml can, brewery, beer vendors), a salted wheat beer aged with cucumber and lime; it’s medium gold in colour and slightly hazy, and aromatically brings bright notes of lime and cucumber rind, a saline note and secondary wheat and malt notes.

It’s dry, light-plus bodied and mildly sour, with up-front cucumber flavours along with a healthy serving of lime; the salty and sour notes come through as well as bright wheat and subtle malty notes, virtually no bitterness from hops and, at 4.8 per cent alcohol, a short, crisp finish.

A refreshing summer sipper. 3.5/5

The Nonsuch Brewing Co. Beauty Lager (Winnipeg — $2.79/473ml can, brewery and beer vendors, 15 x 355ml can cases also available at Liquor Marts) is a relatively new and well-priced lager from Nonsuch for those looking for easy-going beers made locally (think Torque’s blonde ale, Kilter’s Vintage pilsner, Little Brown Jug’s Generic., Half Pints’ Double Standard and the like).

Aromatically it brings bright malt and wheat notes with hints of corn and citrus; on the mainly dry, light-bodied palate it’s pretty much more of the same — crisp and fresh and with a quick finish (it’s 4.5 per cent alcohol).

The can doesn’t lie — it is indeed “smooth sippin.’” The 15 x 355ml can cases, also available at Liquor Marts, are a measly $30.99. 3/5

The Blumstein Brewing Co. Frintshauft Zitzung Session IPA (Stanley — $4.42/473ml can, brewery, select Liquor Marts and vendors) is one of four of the rural brewery’s initial offerings, whose products lean hard name-wise into Manitoba’s Mennonite heritage.

This session IPA is deep gold and clear in appearance, and brings rich malt and cracked wheat aromas along with hints of citrus rind and fresh grassy notes. It’s dry and medium-bodied, with the grainy flavours front and centre and with very modest hoppy/grassy notes before the 4.4 per cent alcohol on the modest finish.

It’s a tasty brew, although for an IPA, session or otherwise, it could use a bit more of a hoppy bite.

Available in Winnipeg only at the Quality Inns beer vendor (685 Weatherdon Ave.), and at select Liquor Marts/vendors in the Pembina Valley and southern Manitoba. 3/5

Made in celebration of nine years of beers, the Barn Hammer Brewing Co. Nine Lives Farmhouse Ale (Winnipeg — $4.90/473ml can, brewery, Liquor Marts and beer vendors) is pale gold and slightly hazy in appearance; aromatically it brings fresh malt and modest, grassy hops notes along with citrus rind, cracked oat and a wheat component.

It’s dry and light-plus bodied, with fresh wheat and malt flavours coming with hints of banana candy, bread dough and spice, modest bitterness and, at 4.8 per cent alcohol, a modest finish.

There’s some nice complexity to go along with the fresh flavours — here’s to nine more (or hopefully more) years to come. 4/5

The Trans Canada Brewing Co. Beachcomber Summer IPA (Winnipeg — $4.24/473ml can, brewery, beer vendor) is back for summer 2025 — it’s medium gold and clear in appearance, and offers fresh lemon and grapefruit rind, herbal, cracked malt and wheat aromas that are enticing.

It’s dry, light-plus bodied and juicy, with fresh pineapple, lemon-lime and malty flavours coming with modest bitterness via resinous, grassy hops notes (it’s 61 IBU) and, at 6.5 per cent alcohol, some decent length on the finish.

For those who find lagers and pilsners a bit boring for summer, this is a solid alternative. 4/5

Last but not least is the return of the Kilter Brewing Co. Sunny Dreamsicle Milkshake IPA (Winnipeg — $4.50/473ml can, brewery, beer vendors), a creamsicle-inspired flavoured brew infused with tangerine, blood orange, milk, sugar and vanilla.

It’s medium-straw and hazy in appearance, and on the nose brings loads of wheat, vanilla bean, baking spice and ripe, sweet citrus.

t’s medium-bodied and medium-sweet, with a creamy, viscous texture that delivers vanilla, ripe orange/tangerine and fresh malt flavours, with very low bitterness and, at 6.5 per cent alcohol, a medium-length finish.

It’s nostalgia in a can, bringing oh-so-familiar summer creamsicle flavours. 3.5/5

uncorked@mts.net

@bensigurdson