Summer Summer Summer Time

Of the billions of things my Grandfather has taught me, one of my favorites is how to enjoy fine tobacco, whether it was from a pipe or rolled up in a delicious cigar. When we could play darts together he would almost always pull out the pipe or light a cigar and the atmosphere of a british pub was unavoidable. The smell is unmistakable, a musty smoky smell, hard to describe but as soon as I smell it my mouth starts watering like Pavlov's dog waiting for food. And as the weather changes there is nothing more enjoyable that sitting out on the back porch reading a book, sipping a beer and smoking a nice cigar.
Today will hopefully be one of many, as I cracked a few lovely beers to accompany a lovely day and a hand rolled cigar from Boston Cigar Company. The two six packs I've been nursing all week have been Narragansett Summer and Harpoon Summer, both strait out of the can and both amazingly excellent for unique reasons.
Narragansett Summer Ale is brewed with two row pale malt and what feels like thee most popular hops at the moment, Citra hops. That's it! The taste is just a touch of sweetness followed by bright citrusy tang from the hops, but very little bitterness to go along with an easy drinking 4.2% alcohol so I can just  sit back and enjoy a bundle of them without feeling them.

The Kolsch style of beer originates from Cologne Germany, where they'd brew an ale and then cold store it like a lager until it's ready to drink. Rich Doyle and Dan Kenary based Harpoon Summer on the kolsch style after a trip to Cologne and they've been brewing it ever since. Every year I look forward to it, because so few Americans can make a good kolsch, but Harpoon certainly can. Their kolsch is a crisp and easy drinking with tart citrusy hops on the tongue and present throughout the entire can.
It's summer time, so I am gonna drink a lot of beer at BBQs and baseball games and everything else, so this won't be the last you'll see of the bacon beer koozie, I guarantee.