Spring’s drizzle and chill is waning. The heat is on the way. With it comes a wave of crushable, easy-to-drink craft brews.
When we talk about crushable beers, we’re talking about hazy IPAs, lagers, session beers, pilsners, and a whole lot of sours. ABVs are typically low and drinkability is off the charts. Check ten of our favorites to carry you from spring into summer, below.
Karbach Viva Chela
ABV: 5.5%
Average Price: $9.46 for a six-pack
The Beer:
This Mexican-style lager with 2-Row, Vienna, Flaked Corn, and Acidulated malts, as well as Tettnanger hops, would be perfect on its own, but it’s ramped up with the addition of sea salt and lime. The result is a crisp, highly drinkable, tangy brew.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find aromas of sea salt, tangy lime, and sweet corn. The palate is filled with sweet, caramel malts, citrus zest, bright lime, and a perfect, saline flavor. It all ends with a nice crisp, sweet citrus and salty finish.
Bottom Line:
When it comes to crushable brews, it’s hard to top this salty and sweet brew. It’s crisp, refreshing, and well-suited for sunny day drinking.
Oskar Blues One-Y
ABV: 4%
Average Price: $10.99 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Not only is this 4% ABV hazy IPA chocked full of hops like El Dorado, Comet, Citra, Mosaic, and French Aramis hops and filled with crisp, citrus flavors, it’s also sessionable. And it’s only 100 calories!
Tasting Notes:
Take a moment to breathe in scents of ripe grapefruit, orange peels, and sweet malts. On the palate, you’ll find flavors of juicy mango, guava, lime, and orange with a nice malt backbone. It all ends with a juicy, fruity finish.
Bottom Line:
Not only is this beer low in ABV, but it’s also low in calories. It’s also high in flavor, making it one of the most crushable beers of spring.
Alesmith KICKBACKRELAX
ABV: 4.2%
Average Price: $10.99 for a six-pack
The Beer:
With a name like KICKBACKRELAX, you can bet this is an easy-drinking, warm-weather-appropriate beer. This newly launched hazy IPA 4.2% ABV is only 120-calories and loaded with juicy, hazy, fruity flavors. It’s the kind of beer you’ll want to sip as you literally kick back and put your feet up on a sunny day.
Tasting Notes:
Your nostrils will fill with the aromas of citrus zest, tropical fruits, and just a hint of floral hops. Sipping this beer reveals flavors of juicy mango, ripe grapefruit, fresh berries, and piney hops. The finish is crisp, juicy, and memorable.
Bottom Line:
This beer was created for chilling. It’s hazy, juicy, and completely lives up to its epic moniker.
Odell Good Behavior
ABV: 4%
Average Price: $10.99 for a six-pack
The Beer:
If you’ve been good, you hope to get rewarded for your efforts. For us, the treat for good behavior is sipping this delicious, sessionable, hazy IPA on a spring day. It’s brewed with HBC 586, Citra, and Amarillo hops as well as a proprietary yeast strain and a mysteriously unnamed malt content as well as water from the Cache la Poudre River in the Rocky Mountains.
Tasting Notes:
At 4% ABV, you might assume this beer is a bit bland. But one sniff reveals a bouquet of scents that include tangerine, guava, and bright citrus. The sip transports you to a world of juicy mango, ripe tangerine, and subtly resinous pine flavors. The ending is a great mixture of citrus sweetness and bitter hops.
Bottom Line:
This flavorful, low ABV beer is bursting with citrus and tropical juice flavors. Even if you weren’t on your best behavior, you can still spend all spring enjoying this brew.
Bell’s Lager of the Lakes
ABV: 5%
Average Price: $10 for a six-pack
The Beer:
A lot of these crushable beers are hazy IPAs. We can understand the appeal as these juice bombs are highly refreshing. But it’s hard to top the classic Czech-style pilsner like Bell’s Lager of the Lakes. It’s complex and well-rounded with rich, sweet malts, and subtly bitter hops.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find scents of sweet corn, bright orange, floral hops, and subtle wheat. On the palate, there are notes of corn malts, tangerine, subtle grapefruit, and pleasing piney hops. The finish is crisp, clean, and refreshing.
Bottom Line:
Lagers don’t get the respect they deserve in the American craft beer world. Even if you’re not a big fan, this crushable brew will definitely change your mind.
Allagash River Trip
ABV: 4.8%
Average Price: $12.99 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
This highly crushable Belgian-style session ale is brewed with locally sourced Pale malt, raw quick oats, as well as a 2-Row malt blend, and Munich malts. It gets an added hoppy zip from the use of Nugget, Cascade, Comet, and Azacca hops. The addition of coriander gives it a gently spicy kick.
Tasting Notes:
Take a few moments to breathe in the aromas of spicy coriander, orange peels, and notable yeast. When you take a sip, you’ll find flavors of cooking spices, more Belgian yeast, bright orange, and subtle, floral hops. The finish is dry, crisp, and filled with spicy hops.
Bottom Line:
A sessionable, crisp, yeasty brew like this makes us literally want to grab a tube and slowly meander down a river on a hot day.
Revolution Sun Crusher
ABV: 5.3%
Average Price: $10.99 for a six-pack
The Beer:
When it comes to highly drinkable, warm weather beers, it’s hard to top a name like Sun Crusher. Brewed with 2-Row, Red Wheat, and Carapils malts as well as flaked oats and a cacophony of Apollo and Amarillo hops, this one is rounded out by being dry-hopped with a blend of Crystal, Amarillo, and Mosaic.
Tasting Notes:
Before sipping this wheat beer, give it a proper nosing. You’ll notice aromas of lime zest, sweet malts, aromatic yeast, and subtle pine. Sipping this beer reveals hints of ripe grapefruit, sweet orange, resin, and just a hint of spicy pepper at the very end.
Bottom Line:
If you only grab one beer to ease your way into the humid summer days, make it Sun Crusher. It’s tart, refreshing, and just what you need after a long work week.
Two Roads Lil’ Heaven
ABV: 4.8%
Average Price: $10 for a six-pack
The Beer:
When it comes to thirst-quenching spring beers, the session IPA seems to be the champion. Two Roads Lil’ Heaven is one of the best. Brewed with Azacca, Mosaic and Equinox hops and sitting under 5%, this crisp hoppy brew is one you’ll come back to again and again.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find aromas of ripe pineapple, citrus zest, wildflowers, and spruce. Take a sip and you will be rewarded with hints of juicy mango, sweet malts, orange peels, and lime. The finish is bright, clean, crisp, and ends with a nice kick of citrusy hops.
Bottom Line:
Spring is the beginning of the grilling season and this crisp, citrus-filled, low-ABV IPA is the perfect complement to grilled meats and vegetables.
Dogfish Head SeaQuench Ale
ABV: 4.9%
Average Price: $11 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Dogfish Head SeaQuench Ale is a really complicated beer. It’s a blend of a classic, crisp Kölsch, a tart Berlinerweiss, and a salty gose that’s brewed with black limes, sea salt, and coriander. A truly unique spring flavor experience.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose you’ll find a subtle salinity, sour lemon, and tart lime. After nosing, take a sip and you’ll be treated to spicy coriander, tart lime, grapefruit, and a great hit of salt. It ends with a refreshing combination of citrus and salt.
Bottom Line:
Don’t be turned off by the thought of a salty beer. This beloved brewed is extremely thirst quenching and filled with bright citrus flavors.
Green Flash GFB
ABV: 4.8%
Average Price: $10.99 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Green Flash is well known for its super-hopped IPAs. But a few years ago, the brand decided to launch a sessionable blonde ale, so its fans could take a break from bitter, hoppy, floral brews. They didn’t remove all the hops though. It’s subtly hoppy with a ton of citrus and caramel malt notes.
Tasting Notes:
Up front, you’ll find scents of clover honey, citrus zest, sweet malts, and subtle piney hops. On the palate, you’ll be greeted with caramel malts, more honey, ripe oranges, and floral flavors. The finish is crisp, refreshing, and full of citrus and pine.
Bottom Line:
This blonde ale was designed as a respite for overly hoppy IPAs. We believe you should use it for just that reason. Sip on a Green Flash GFB to take a break from the session IPAs on this list.
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