Whether you have to travel up to the Hudson Valley, over to Long Island, or simply ask for one of these beers at your local bar, it’s worth ringing in the summer with these light, citrusy, refreshing beverages. Just about every nearby (“nearby” being a relative word) brewery has its own summer ale, each of which goes best with a blazing sun, plans to go to the beach, and the only kind of meal you can take in the city’s suffocating heat—a light one.
 

Brooklyn Summer Ale is just good (but I’m also partial to the Brooklyn Brewery’s selection in general). British malts with German and American hops gives this ale its flavor, which is sharp and a bit floral. Brooklyn’s summer brew is also light (further helped by the relatively low-calorie count) and pairs well with seafood and salads.

Simple Sour

Low on the alcohol by volume but high on the refreshing scale, this beer from Peekskill is brewed with wheat, corn, and brettanomyces. It’s called “sour” because of the tangy taste imparted by the yeast.

Checkpoint Charlie Berliner Weisse

In spite of the potentially insensitive name, this beer is amazingly palatable. Partly, it’s so easy to drink because the ABV is quite low at just 3%. This wheat/pilsner beer is best enjoyed at the Newburgh Brewing Company itself, because they serve it like bartenders in Berlin would—with fruity syrups, ranging across different varieties of berry. You can understand why this is a beer best suited to summer—it’s practically a berry-flavored dessert.

Bronx Summer Pale Ale

Naturally, this brewery has one ale that comes and goes with the change in weather per season. Now, it’s the pale ale, which features British and American two-row malts and a slight citrusy taste because it was brewed with a lemon peel.
 

This beer will help you out on those especially sweaty summer days in New York (read: all of them). To get the salt back in your body a la Gatorade, try drinking Jammer, Sixpoint’s saltiest ale…and this is no joke. The brewery actually hooked up with Jacobsen Salt company (a real salt company) to supply this batch of brew with a special ingredient.

Greenport Summer Ale

Yes, nearly every major brewery has got to have one—it’s very own summer ale. Greenport’s is special, boasting a touch of sweetness from honey and orange blossom. As for ABV, it’s at a standard level for summer ales, reaching 5.3% ABV.

KelSo Beer Co.
Meant to kick off the summer, Saison has those pils/wheat malts and a hint of strawberry that will enchant you when it’s warm outside. Its honey color matches its third kind of malt--honey malt.