January hits and we proud northern dwellers – bundled in layers of sweaters, knit caps and wind-proof parkas (but still strangely freezing cold) – yearn (loudly and frequently) for the green grass and warm, sunny embrace of our lovely Michigan summers. Beaches! Pools! Every house in every neighborhood grilling all manner of beast, fowl and bean (don’t forget your favorite beer barbecue sauce)!
Then, of course, after swarms of mosquitoes pester every backyard cookout and the humidity makes breathing under water easier, we all long for the sweatshirts, scents and colors of fall. How quickly we forget what comes next.
Despite our love of hating our current season, we have beers that make it all better. Beating the summer heat comes easier with a beer named after the one summertime implement that hums in our ears from sunup to sundown: the lawnmower beer. My personal go-to lawnmower beer, the king of the style you’ve never heard of, is the Kolsch-style beer. Look no further than Royal Oak Brewery’s Northern Light.
A Kolsch-style ale, as German as beers get, is an ale brewed to taste like a lager; light, refreshing, cold. Everything you want on your back deck or on the shores of your favorite lake. Northern Light delivers.
The beer pours a bright straw yellow into my pint glass: sunny, beautiful, crystal clear – just like every day that’s wonderful about this season. The fluffy pure-white head sits atop the bright-gold brew like the solitary cloud that provides momentary relief from sour summer’s sun.
Cereal grains dominate this summer beer’s aroma like a drive through Battle Creek. Underneath all that grain is that satisfying aroma of a fresh-cut lawn, along with a hint of earthy yeast to bring us back down from the clouds where we’ve been floating with Northern Light.
The taste is where Northern Light really…shines. Beautiful, fresh grains are complimented by sweet-tart apples, which add a crispness to the beer that almost makes it crunch. That same delicate fresh-cut grass provides just enough bitter to make a contrast but keep it refreshingly clean. Doughy yeast gives way to summer’s best refresher: sweet lemonade.
Northern Light hits Michigan summer on every note but its wintry name: bright sun, clear skies, fresh lawns and lemonade stands. The crisp apples and shimmery effervescence are sure to soothe the thirstiest tongues.
