It doesn’t take an in-depth study to know that summer is the season to crack open those European pilsners, or slice limes for pale Mexican lager. Nevertheless, in July 2024, the Beer Institute conducted a poll that showed two-thirds of Americans opted for beer between April and June over wine, liquor, or cocktails. And when seeking summertime refreshment, 45 percent of Americans chose lagers, in search of crispness (35 percent), lightness (33 percent) and bright or vibrant flavors (26 percent).
Seasonal drinking trends aside, lighter beers are increasingly taking center stage, even in craft lineups. With craft breweries shuttering at an alarming rate—399 ceased production last year according to the Brewers Association—and craft beer sales declining, breweries have been adopting a lighter, more approachable style to bring more drinkers into the fold.
“Light beers have been on the up and up this year,” says Gage Gabalis, the general manager of Pour Taproom Midtown in Atlanta, Georgia. “Even session IPAs, which typically don’t move, because it’s a light IPA, and [usually] nobody wants a four percent IPA.”
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With that in mind, here’s how bar professionals and retailers across the U.S. are lightening up their list. (All beers are listed below with suggested retail price per pack.)
Wild East Brewing Company ‘Patience & Fortitude,’ Brooklyn; $16 per four-pack of 16-oz. cans
Selected by Gerrard Leary, owner, Sweet Avenue, Queens, New York
The days of pilsners being pigeonholed as flimsy light beers appear to be behind us as brewers cast their gaze backwards through brewing history to develop their products. “Calling it a lager is not good enough anymore,” says Gerrard Leary, the owner of the Sweet Avenue, a beer store and taproom in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Queens, New York. “Breweries are going back and nailing historic styles and getting into the fine details, like the specific hops they use. That makes it easy for us to sell.”
Leary is a fan of Patience & Fortitude, a Czech-style pilsner made by Brooklyn’s Wild East Brewing. As a signal of his commitment to the growth of interest in pilsners—and a proper pour of Patience & Fortitude—Leary installed a LUKR faucet, a side-pull device made in the Czech Republic that produces a thick mousse-like head, a flourish that’s been a signature of Czech beer service for centuries.
Founders All Day Shandy, Grand Rapids, Michigan; $20.99 per 15-pack of 12-oz. cans
Selected by Lola Wasik, manager, HopCat, Detroit
Any Michigan bar worth its weight in Bronco’s fandom is likely to have Founders Brewing Company’s stalwart Porter on heavy rotation—at least in the winter. But the Grand Rapids brewery, which also makes the widely available All Day IPA, has plenty of picks for warmer weather, too. “I’m loving the Founders All Day Shandy. It’s been a hit since we put it on and it is selling like hotcakes,” says Lola Wasik, the manager at HopCat Detroit, one of 11 outposts of the Michigan-based Barfly restaurant group.
Wasik oversees purchasing for the nearly 50 beers on tap. The Shandy has been among the top 10 sellers since they brought it on in March, when it was released for the season. “It has a very lemon-forward aroma and flavor, but it still has that malty taste that adds body to the beer,” she says. “It’s like a grown-up lemonade that I want to sip on a patio.”
Oxbow ‘Surfcasting’ Ale, Newcastle, Maine; $14.99 per six-pack of 12-oz. cans
Selected by Matt Sahagian, beer manager, Julio’s Liquors, Westborough, Massachusetts
Julio’s Liquors has long been known for its extensive whisky selection, but with about 1,000 SKUs, its beer aisle is impressive, too. Beer manager Matt Sahagian says European styles are among the store’s top sellers, so Oxbow Brewing Company’s releases, largely inspired by time-tested styles, like Belgian iambics and saisons, do well in the store.
He’s looking forward to putting the Maine brewer’s Surfcasting Ale on the shelf. The grisette, brewed with sea salt and lime, is his summer go-to. “It’s light in body, refreshing in taste and low in alcohol,” he says. “It’s like a sophisticated version of Corona with lime. It’s farmhouse-y and a little funky.”
Fall Line Brewing Company ‘Yoshi’ Pilsner, Macon, Georgia; $24 per six-pack of 12-oz. cans
Selected by Gage Gabalis, general manager, Pour Taproom Midtown, Atlanta
The South’s steamy months usher in a demand for light beers at Pour Taproom, an Atlanta hangout with two locations. Gage Gabalis helms the flagship Midtown outpost, which has a self-serve tap system of 88 beers.
Gabalis stays as local as he can with the selection. He’s a fan of Fall Line Brewing Company’s ‘Yoshi’ Pilsner, a seasonal release crafted with over 300,000 cherry blossoms from Macon, Georgia. “It’s marvelous! Ever-so-slightly floral and light hops to match, the refreshing sipper compliments the Georgia heat,” he says.
City Barrel Brewing Creamsicle ‘Rad AF,’ Kansas City, Missouri; $19 per six-pack of 12-oz. cans
Selected by Aaron Passow, bar manager, Taps on Main, Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri, is a hazy-IPA city, and City Barrel Brewing puts out some of the best, says Aaron Passow, the bar manager at Taps on Main, a craft beer destination with a sports bar vibe. Up to 10 of the 40 available on the pour-your-own taps system are hazy IPAs, but none draw customers with a single-minded pursuit quite like City Barrel’s Creamsicle Rad AF, a seasonal City Barrel release.
The “AF” does not stand for alcohol free; the milkshake hazy IPA clocks in at 7.2% ABV, and is brewed with Valencia orange, mango, Mexican vanilla, and lactose. “It’s an easy-drinking, refreshing IPA,” says Passow. “You really get the taste of an orange creamsicle on the front. It’s got some heavy flavors, but it doesn’t really feel like an IPA. The vanilla and lactose make the flavors pop.”
Gold Dot ‘Pils de Pils,’ McMinnville, Oregon; $23.99 per four-pack of 16-oz. cans
Selected by Gene Fielden, buyer and manager at Bottlecraft North Park, San Diego
There are six Bottlecraft locations in Central and Southern California, with both on-premise and off-premise offerings. Gene Fielden, who has worked with the company since 2014, is the manager and buyer at San Diego’s North Park outpost, which is the most retail-focused of the group. He notes that the area’s “hard water lends itself to snappily bitter West Coast IPAs,” but when it comes to lagers, he casts his gaze northward to Oregon, where the water is soft and talent is concentrated.
For summer, he’s looking forward to Pils de Pils from Gold Dot, a new project from the Heater Allen Brewing family. It’s spearheaded by Lisa Allen, the daughter of the brewery’s founder Rick Allen, and her husband, Kevin Davey, formerly of Portland’s noted lager house Wayfinder Brewing. “This dynamic duo promptly embarked upon an unbroken streak of flawless lagers, capped off by Pils de Pils,” says Fielden, who writes a weekly column for San Diego Beer News. “This beer is everything one could desire from a German-style pilsner, replete with generous carbonation, flaxen hue, herbal hopping, and a clean finish.”
Industrial Arts Brewing Company ‘Metric’ Pilsner, Beacon, New York; $14 per four-pack of 16-oz. cans
Selected by Doug Fowler, manager, Bronx Beer Hall, Bronx, New York
Arthur Avenue, the Italian enclave in the Bronx, is the second-biggest tourist attraction in the borough, surpassed only by Yankee Stadium. It makes sense, then, that the operators of Bronx Beer Hall, which opened on the Italian food-focused strip in 2013, would want to have a brew at the ready for daytrippers—something that lends itself to a leisurely session without being too filling. These days, that’s the ‘Metric’ Pilsner from Industrial Arts Brewing Company in Beacon, New York. In the three years he’s worked at the bar, manager Doug Fowler has seen an interest in pilsners spike. He credits the craft brewers who aren’t shying away from adding complexity to the ubiquitous style.
“Pilsners are a go-to and generally sell themselves when it’s hot out,” he says. “They’re all light and crisp, but Metric has some hoppiness in the middle that carries the body and flavor. It’s not a classic kind of clean and easy, it’s more layered. People come and sample it and end up ordering rounds.”
Dispatch
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Liza Weisstuch is a New York City-based journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Bon Appetit, Robb Report, and The Wall Street Journal, among others. She is the U.S. contributing editor to Whisky Magazine. You can reach her on Instagram (@livingtheproof) and X (@livingtheproof)
