This series of posts is dedicated to the many, many six packs, pony kegs and pints that have sauntered into my life at one point or another.

Because summer.

No, wait. I can actually muster a few more words.

Though I have ample admiration for all the brewers who toil and strive to make concoctions of maximum complexity, abuzz with cascades of confounding flavor, there’s something pleasing about a more commonplace beer style that’s done exactly right. I will chase hoppy IPAs and revel in bourbon-blasted stouts with the best of them, but I’m grateful that recent years have found craft brewers willingly bringing their intriguing expertise to styles such as lagers and pilsners. The fine folks at Sierra Nevada remain the benevolent godfathers of the whole robust scene, and their Nooner makes it clear they can still come up with a fabulous winner any old time they choose. Crisp, bright, and bracing, it’s one of those eminently drinkable beers that seems made for the days the sun seems like it will stay high in the sky forever.

Previous entries in this series can be found by clicking on the “Beers I Have Known” tag.