It's heating up out there (June recap)
It seems I haven't done a monthly recap since my initial one back in January. That about sums up my love/hate relationship with writing. Occasionally I come back to it, and usually when I do beer is the inspiration. For the most part, writing this all down is in hopes some of these beer memories stick in my head a bit longer. And possibly serve as a a reminder, "Hey that was damn good beer that one time--- I should have one of those again soon!" Well, let's keep this going before I lose my motivation again.
Summer Time
...and the beers are going down easy. Seriously, there are so many beer-drinking occasions during the summer, from ballgames to concerts, roadtrips to cookouts, vacations and staycations and everything in- and out-between. June kicked off a busy summer for us and we can't wait for all that still lies ahead. One thing I am always interested in is trying new beer, and I'm super excited for a roadtrip this year down to North Carolina. We won't make it to the beer mecca that is Asheville, but with stops along the way in Harrisburg+York (PA), Richmond (VA) and visits to Raleigh and Durham there will be plenty of good beer on this trip!
But we're talking June here. Let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet. I've been having fun playing around seeing how my beer preferences play out as the heat settles in. June started off pretty comfortably, but the end of the month turned pretty hot. As early July is off to a scorching pace as well, I'm certainly gravitating towards lighter, crisp easy-drinking beers. I like having the Untappd supporter access to the numbers to see how this plays out.
Summer Time
...and the beers are going down easy. Seriously, there are so many beer-drinking occasions during the summer, from ballgames to concerts, roadtrips to cookouts, vacations and staycations and everything in- and out-between. June kicked off a busy summer for us and we can't wait for all that still lies ahead. One thing I am always interested in is trying new beer, and I'm super excited for a roadtrip this year down to North Carolina. We won't make it to the beer mecca that is Asheville, but with stops along the way in Harrisburg+York (PA), Richmond (VA) and visits to Raleigh and Durham there will be plenty of good beer on this trip!
But we're talking June here. Let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet. I've been having fun playing around seeing how my beer preferences play out as the heat settles in. June started off pretty comfortably, but the end of the month turned pretty hot. As early July is off to a scorching pace as well, I'm certainly gravitating towards lighter, crisp easy-drinking beers. I like having the Untappd supporter access to the numbers to see how this plays out.
| Row Labels | Count of checkin_url |
| IPA - American | 9 |
| IPA - New England | 5 |
| Pilsner - Other | 3 |
| Saison / Farmhouse Ale | 3 |
| Lager - North American Adjunct | 2 |
| Hefeweizen | 2 |
| Pilsner - German | 2 |
| Scottish Ale | 1 |
| Lager - IPL (India Pale Lager) | 1 |
| Lager - Dark | 1 |
| Blonde Ale | 1 |
| Lager - Helles | 1 |
| Grand Total | 31 |
IPA still reigns supreme of the 31 different beers I checked-in to this past June, but pilsners, saisons, and hefe made a good showing. And those adjunct lagers too; I'm expecting a bunch more Hamm's to go down easy as we ride out this heat wave.
As the heat sticks around, I expect even more of these easy drinking pils and hefes to be in our fridge. And saisons might be my favorite for summer in my head, but the numbers might tell a different story in the #summerofsaison vs #summerofpils battle.
Other than the beer types, it's interesting to take a peek too at the breweries. As one who attempts to drink local as much as possible and with so many options now available, I'm not exactly surprised to see 25 of 31 different beers I had in June were from NY state. And of course, plenty of local Liquid State, Hopshire, and Ithaca Beer.
| Row Labels | Count of beer_name |
| Liquid State Brewing Company | 4 |
| Hopshire Farm And Brewery | 3 |
| Southern Tier Brewing Company | 3 |
| Ithaca Beer Company | 3 |
| Eastwood Brewing Company | 1 |
| Sixpoint Brewery | 1 |
| Pabst Brewing Company | 1 |
| Fiddlehead Brewing Company | 1 |
| Three Heads Brewing | 1 |
| Founders Brewing Co. | 1 |
| Miller Brewing Company | 1 |
| Climbing Bines Hop Farm | 1 |
| Saranac Brewery (F.X. Matt Brewing Co.) | 1 |
| Horseheads Brewing | 1 |
| Collective Arts Brewing | 1 |
| Upstate Brewing Company | 1 |
| Threes Brewing | 1 |
| War Horse Brewing Company | 1 |
| Brewery Ommegang | 1 |
| Water Street Brewing Co. (New York) | 1 |
| Brasserie Dupont | 1 |
| Lucky Hare Brewing Company | 1 |
| Grand Total | 31 |
With our road trip fast approaching I don't expect my July numbers to look very similar, but I will definitely enjoy writing next month's recap...even if it comes in parts.
Drinking Locale of the Month
A tough decision, but I'm going with the Bernie Milton Pavilion on Ithaca Commons. Nothing quite says summer in Ithaca like Ithaca Fest and the start of the summer concert series. Plenty of Ithaca Beer and Southern Tier helped to fuel these dancing shoes.
Honorable mention: What also screams summer? Baseball. We now seem to have a yearly trip to Syracuse on the books for a June game. With craft beer provided by Now and Later and inexpensive 16oz cans of Saranac Haus Lager throughout the park, beer and baseball is a winning combination.
New Check-in of the Month
This was another difficult choice--again pitting a hometown offering versus another NY state option, this time a beer from NYC. For this one, NYC wins out as Threes Brewing Vliet pilsner was a wonderful revelation. This clean pilsner was crisp with a slightly sweet toasty finish. And it went perfectly fireside.
Honorable mention: Liquid State's first can release included their first New England IPA release. Like all the rest of their beers, I thought they hit what the style is *supposed* to be. This is simply what Liquid State does. No off flavors. No crazy deviations from the style. Good, approachable beer. And if you like NEIPA, I don't see where you'd find faults here. Soft and juicy. Nice carbonation. No vegetal bitterness. Hazy. Damn good.
Overall Check-in of the Month
Honestly I almost gave new check-in of the month to Liquid State and overall to Threes--it's that damn good. Buuuutttt...a father's day gift swoops in. The classic of all saisons: Saison Dupont. The iconic saison continues to be a favorite and what better beer to lead the charge for the #summerofsaison The spicy/dry finish on this one just begs you to take another sip...and another...and another...until you realize that somehow the 750mL bottle is empty...Ah well, I'll see you again someday soon, old friend!
À votre santé!
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