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10 of the best beers to try this August Bank Holiday

04 August 2023 By Jessica Mason

Looking for a go-to list of beers that are perfect to drink in the sun this August Bank Holiday? Look no further. Here are 10 beers suitable for summer sipping.

Neptune Brewery

Mosaic

APA

4.5% ABV

A single hopped core pale ale from Neptune that makes you want to dip back in for another sip time and time again. Sessionable and juicy and also available in all good pubs in keg as well as indie bottle shops in 440ml cans. Neptune, based in Liverpool, doesn’t just brew great beer, the team is also made up of a selection of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. Definitely one to order or buy in for summertime sipping with friends.

Abyss

Super Pale

Hazy Pale Ale

4.4% ABV

A gluten-free vegan-friendly hazy pale ale that has a nice gentle crunch to it. Hops that lead include Citra, Ekuanot and Centennial while really this is east-drinking and everything is in perfect balance. Full juiciness, full flavour and when the sun is shining the chances are you won’t only want one of these. Seek it out. Buy other directly from the Abyss web-shop or hit up Sussex-based pubs and bars across Lewes and Brighton that have a rep for serving great beer.

Left Handed Giant

Endless Talking

Fruited Gose

5.5% ABV

A vegan-friendly sour that puts mango and tropical tones front and centre. Oats and wheat are also added to the grain bill which afford this easy-drinking gose a smooth and slightly velvety fuller mouthfeel than your average sour. This means you don’t just get acidity, juice and the prickle of assertive refreshment, you also get a satisfying comfortingly smooth ride with this beer. So much so that it feels like the conversation has already started from the moment you delve in. Thank you Left Handed Giant, you Bristolian heroes.

Gravity Well

Superhump

Pale Ale

4.2% ABV

Crispy and delicious. Packed with New Zealand and American hops this is piney and resinous and full of tropical fruit characteristics. These peeps from Leyton in North East London are creating beers with ‘full on’ flavour but this little number is by far one of the best to pick up and session a couple on a hot day. Also, it’s a small set-up and so far everyone there seems to be engaged with flavour and that’s what counts.

Duration

Another Day Done

APA

4.4% ABV

If you want a beer after a long day, then this is it. As the sun peeps around the clouds at the exact time you’re leaving work and you’re after something that feels like a reward look for this. Tropical and juicy, but with an ABV that provokes you to get two. Indeed, Duration, based in Norfolk, has made another smasher.

Burnt Mill

Pintle

Pale Ale

4.3% ABV

With a gentle grain bill, this pale ale has been brewed with wheat, oats and Vienna malt to give it a slip-down smoothness. Cascade and Citra lead with all of the tropical aromas but with the citrus scents of Czech hop Kazbek lifting it out from being too obvious. Slightly muted bitterness and an enduring dry finish give this beer supreme agreeability.

Track Brewing Company

Sun Is Ours

Double/New England/Hazy IPA

8% ABV

Not all beers suitable for summer drinking are the sessionable kind. In fact, some are simply perfect because they’re bursting with sunshine juiciness. Track’s Sun is Ours is one such beer. Made in Manchester and boosted with Citra and the much-talked about Cryo hops this has all of the flavour, all of the ‘look at me’ freshness and also a lot of shelf appeal too. Is it a DIPA, or could it be considered a hazy NEIPA with attitude. Either way, it’s delicious.

Anspach & Hobday

Sea Salt & Lime Gose

Sour, Fruited Gose

3.5% ABV

In collaboration with Maldon Salt, Anspach & Hobday have created another belter. Zesty lime juice flavours are at the forefront muddle together with little lifts of spritely acidity and citrus refreshment. A little herbal as well as easy-drinking this fruited sour is for when the sun is beating down from on high and you want a beer that delivers immediate hydration.

Polly’s Brew Co

Floret

Pale Ale

4.5% ABV

If you liked Polly’s Spur then you’ll love this. It’s essentially a sessional version of the Welsh brewery’s popular IPA. Only, its drinkability during the summer months is at a more conscientious ABV. An elbow bending new classic that you’ll want to order time and time again.

Overtone

Rasp Lime Rickey

Fruit Sour

3.5% ABV

A sour that muddles adjuncts such as raspberry and lime juice, but does it without shouting too loudly over the Ariana hops which instead work in tandem with the fruits. Light and easy-drinking, this beer has been brewed in Glasgow by a team who knows a thing or two about depth of flavour, even with a fruited sour.