Summer Sippers

Feast Unwrapped asked area brewers to share their top summer sippers. Here’s a look at what’s on tap for the summer season.

Outer Dunes Brewing
Más Elote Mexican Lager
4.2% ABV

A crisp, golden Mexican-style lager made with corn. It’s light and refreshing, perfect for a hot day. Find it at several local restaurants and bottle shops as well as Total Wine & More and Lowes Foods.

Front Street Brewery
Breezy Boi Beach Lager
5.0% ABV

An easy drinking blend between a hazy and a refreshing light lager with explosive hop aromas. Notes of pineapple, citrus and passionfruit are accented by a hint of pine at the finish. It’s punchy, yet crisp with low bitterness – an easy summer sipper.

Oden Brewing Company
Escape Into Sunshine Summer Ale
5.7% ABV

Golden and refreshing, Oden’s Summer Ale is infused with fresh ginger, lemon peel and grains of paradise for an herbaceous, spicy and lemony kick. Brewed with pale malt, honey malt and wheat malt, its smooth body and enticing aroma are the perfect match for long summer evenings.

Burgaw Brewing
Pender County Famous ver. 2.0
6% ABV
Version 2.0 of Burgaw Brewing’s blueberry wheat recipe is now a blueberry sour, with Ivanhoe Farms Blueberry juice added during fermentation. Brewer Kevin Kozak describes it as “tart, with a touch of sweet and a ton of delicious.” This one should be dropping sometime in early to mid-June in time for the town’s annual N.C. Blueberry Festival.

Wrightsville Beach Brewery
La-Brewcha-cha Mexican Lager
5.4% ABV

A clean, crisp, dry amber lager with hints of caramel and a subtle earthiness; pairs well with tacos or ribs. It’s available at the brewery as well as local bottle shops, bars and restaurants.

Ponysaurus Brewing Co.
Mango Guava Wit
5.2% ABV

Ponysaurus took its standard wheat ale and added mango and pink guava to create this fruited wit, perfect for summertime sipping. The beer has bright aromas of lemon and tropical fruit, with flavors of orange peel, rooibos tea, melon and coriander. Pairs well with barbecue, calamari, ceviche, fish or shrimp tacos and spicy wings. It can be found at Lighthouse Beer & Wine, Market House Beer and Wine, Total Wine & More and Whole Foods Market.

Wilmington Brewing Company
ROY G BIV Wilmy Weisse Sour Ale Brewed with Orange & Passionfruit
5% ABV 

A perfect summer beer with tangy notes of orange and passionfruit and a delicate wheat ale palate. ROY G BIV is an annual beer released by Wilmington Brewing Co. every June, and proceeds are donated to the LGBTQ Center of the Cape Fear Coast. Available at the brewery and local bottle shops.

Salty Turtle Beer Co.
The Cove
5.4% ABV

The Cove is a modern IPA with notes of juicy tropical fruit, stone fruit and berries. The lower ABV makes it an easy sipper that pairs well with fruity summer salads and seafood. Salty Turtle has distributed this beer almost exclusively to businesses within the Cargo District, and find it on tap at its Surf City taproom.

Good Hops Brewing
El Dorado Drift
4.2 % ABV

El Dorado Drift has a light golden wave of mischief in every sip, according to Sam Malkmus, of Good Hops. It’s a lush mango-flavored lager with a flicker of jalapeno heat that pairs well with fish tacos or spicy wings. In addition to the taproom, find it at Greenfield Lake Yacht Club and The Dive and Brunches in Carolina Beach.

Surf City Brewing Company
Shuckin’ Off Oyster Blonde Ale
4.5% ABV
SCBC created this brew in collaboration with their friends at Soundside Oyster Company in Holly Ridge. The beer starts with the brewery’s Cash Me Outside Blonde Ale base recipe, to which they added three pounds per barrel of fresh oysters from Soundside Oyster Farm. Find it on tap at its Surf City taproom and the Surf City Shuckin’ Shack.