Summer Beer Drought

Travel back in time a couple decades, and you’d likely find your parents sipping the same beer every time they had a drink. Until the recent craft boom, beer fans were very brand loyal.

Now, we’re in an age of brewing creativity — it’s common for beer aficionados to pick out a new brew every time they shop. 

Finding new summer beers this year has been a lot more difficult thanks to COVID-19. Data shows, due to social-distancing restrictions, breweries are registering nearly 50% less new beers in 2020 than last year.

In a nutshell, this means fewer beer options, and many breweries are sticking to tried-and-true flagships and old favorites. Adaptation has been the key for breweries to stay afloat during the pandemic — and those that are prospering noticed the ways people shop for beer has changed, so they quickly moved with the times. 

App-based craft beer delivery sites like Tavour have helped keep breweries’ doors open and allowed them to continue to churn out a variety of new beers. So, even though it might feel like we’re in a serious new summer-beer drought, there’s a wide selection of new summer-beer releases coming to Tavour. Here are a few to look forward to:  

North Carolina’s Wise Man Brewing – Tropical Shirts Berliner Weisse — made with 1.3 lbs of blackberry and raspberry purée per gallon — packs a taste of summer in every sip

Wisconsin’s The Brewing Projekt – Resist Piña Colada Milkshake IPA is so creamy and full of tropical fruit, you’ll happily trade your favorite summer cocktail for a sip. 

Texas’ 903 Brewers – Dreamsicle Slushy Gose tastes just like those orange creamsicles you munched on as a kid, only better because the brewers use real vanilla and tangerines. 

North Carolina’s Wilmington Brewing Company – Jorts Party IPA is so zesty, it’ll have you day-drinking outside in your favorite cutt-off jean shorts! 

California’s Mikkeller Brewing – Double Blush Berliner Weisse takes java notes to the next level with real roasted coffee and raspberries for a spritzy brew. 

Georgia’s Wild Leap Brew Co. – Truck Chaser Lemon Ice Milkshake IPA will transport you back to the days of running after the ice cream man! 

Wisconsin’s Humble Forager Brewery – Coastal Sunshine Fruited Sour Ale is conditioned atop tangerine, passionfruit, mango, and soursop. The brewers recommend enjoying this refreshing fruit smoothie while walking along your favorite river.

Texas’ Jester King Brewery partnered with the women-in-brewing collaborative The Pink Boots Society to craft L’Aradia Summer Lager. They dry-hopped it with a blend of Azacca, El Dorado, Idaho Gem, and Loral Hops for crushable red berry and floral notes. 

To make Ice Cream Paint Job Berliner Weisse, North Carolina’s Divine Barrel Brewing combined vanilla and lactose with over 500 lbs of raspberries, sweet cherries, and blueberries. Imagine licking a triple berry gelato right off the cone.

Utah’s Saltfire Brewing – Mobius Trip – Peaches Sour Ale is aged in rum barrels. We can’t think of a more summery drink than a peach tiki beer-cocktail. 

And, those are just a few brews that beer lovers can find on Tavour in the next few weeks. Keep an eye on the app for new summer releases through August, and new seasonal beers — from fall’s Pumpkin Ales and Oktoberfests to springtime Maibocks — all year long.