Ed. Note: If beer is your cold summer beverage of choice, contributor and beer-and-bbq expert Blake Marcum is here to help. Here are his personal recs for summer beers from local breweries.

If you haven’t noticed by the flop-sweat forming on your brow after making the walk from your Uber ride to the front door of the bar, the summertime heat has arrived to the Bluff City.  We know nothing cools you down like a good beer, and we found six great local beers to help you to beat the heat.

1. Boscos’s Award Winning Hefeweizen (4.5% ABV)

This is one of the few beers that I break my “never drink the same beer twice in a row” rule for.  With a cloudy appearance and citrus aroma, this fantastic hefeweizen (“yeast wheat”) beer gets its great flavor from yeast in unfiltered beer.

About hefeweizens: malted wheat is largely used instead of malted barley, and some hefeweizen yeast has even been known to give off hints of banana or clove.  Boscos’s version brings lots of tasty citrus flavor and I drink it any time I see it on tap.

2. Meddlesome’s Broad Hammer Brown Ale (5.5% ABV)

Our newest brewery opened its doors recently and has already given the Mid-South beer scene a delicious boost. While some would choose their Brass Bellows Blonde Ale to showcase in a summer beer article, I’ve got to mention the Broad Hammer Brown (4.5% ABV), which had a wonderful flavor to it and had a nice enjoyable mouthfeel all the way through.

This is a darker beer, but it’s not so heavy that I couldn’t drink it at the river.  Make your way to the taproom soon and check it out for yourself.

3. Wiseacre’s Memphis Sands Helles (5.1%)

Cold and crisp, this helles lager does exactly what it’s supposed to do: be bright, light and delicious. It’s got more body to it than a pilsner for sure, and is less hoppy. It has a clean mouthfeel the entire way through and is exactly the beer you’re looking for when sitting out on the Wiseacre taproom deck enjoying the summer sun.  

4. Memphis Made’s Greenswarden Hefeweizen (5.7% ABV)

I have enjoyed all of the Greenswarden series of beers that Memphis Made has produced so far, but I like the hefeweizen the most. It is cloudy and citrusy, with a nice sweetness and refreshing flavor, like most hefeweizens.

It’s a great beer to enjoy while yelling about the Greensward or other - less intense - activities like backyard cookouts.

5. High Cotton’s Razz Wheat (5.1% ABV)

I’m not normally a fan of raspberry, but Paul and the team at High Cotton have this beer nailed down into summertime glory. It’s a wheat beer, so you get the nice cloudiness in appearance, a sweet taste, and a light easy-drinking beer. The raspberry really comes in on the backend of the beer, but it’s not overwhelming in any way.

6. Ghost River’s Grind N Shine Coffee Vanilla Cream Ale (6.2% ABV)

Most coffee beers I’ve had are dark and heavy, but the Ghost River brewers have come up with a light and refreshing coffee cream ale. The coffee aroma from this beer will make you do a double-take at the glass. When you imbibe, you get that full bite of coffee on the front end and a wonderfully light finish. This is a perfect beer for coffee and beer fans to take to the Shell.

Cheers!

About the Author
Blake Marcum was born and raised in the 901 and now lives in Midtown, helping people vicariously live out their dreams on social media, if those dreams involve beer and barbecue.  He’s a contributor to I Love Memphis,Memphis Travel, and MemphisCraftBeer.com.  A Grand Champion of BBQ Fest (2013) and BBQ judge, he really knows BBQ. Pairing that with his love of craft beer, he’s a great representative of the fun side of the Bluff City.  Blake loves the investment going into Memphis and believes the best is yet to come. Follow him on Twitter at@blakeandbrew.