1. Bauhaus Brew Lab's Short Pants

4.5% ABV

Few beer styles say summer as much as a shandy. Short Pants is the original in a now expanding the Bauhaus Brew Lab lineup and summer sampler pack. The original is made with real lemon juice and drinks smooth and crisp. It has the natural summery feel of a lemonade but replacing the sugary base with a biscuit-forward beer profile instead. Expect a perfect balance of bready beer with crisp, natural citrus. It offers big, sharp citrus flavors, but in a small 4.5% ABV package.

Short Pants also comes in Watermelon Lemon and Strawberry Lemon flavors, each with a new fruity twist on this base beer.

2. Fair State Brewing Cooperative's KÖLD

4.7% ABV

A Kölsch-style ale brewed in German tradition, this ale pours light gold in color with a big, frothy white head. It’s deceptively simple and classic, giving those cracker notes with some malt sweetness and dancing fruity esters that give both spice and fruity essence. It begins crisp and dry, but a sweet bread with spice rises through the experience, with more fruitiness over time. The beer is primarily crisp and, but with layers of complimentary flavors, including deceptive sweet tones in the form of fruit, melon, and strawberry flavors. While many Kölsch-style ales are subtle, burying the fruitiness in the aroma, KÖLD takes a bold, yet light-bodied, approach to the style.

KÖLD is a year-round beer, sold on draft, in 6-packs, and 12-packs. Fair State Brewing Cooperative also hosts traditional Kölsch service semi-regularly, which keeps glasses full, cold, and fresh through the evening, for those seated at the taproom bar.

3. La Doña Cervecería's El Super Classico Lager

4.2% ABV

This beer will look familiar: light in color, golden, and bubbly. While it looks like the beers on TV, it has a lot more depth of flavor carefully packed into a light Mexican-style lager. Brewed in collaboration with La Tapatia restaurant, this balanced lager is clean and crisp, building from a cracker and corn first impression that begins dry and builds in sweetness, finishing with a balanced sweet corn meets crisply hopped finish. This blends a light pine presence with corn tortilla, for a Mexican-style lager experience that hop fans can enjoy too. There are subtle notes of papaya and melon layered within, making it a complex light beer that perfectly complements a summer taco night.

El Super Classico is available at the brewery in the Harrison neighborhood.

4. Modist Brewing Co's Sea Salt Lime Supra Deluxe

5% ABV

Supra Deluxe is year-round Japanese-style crisp lager that would be fitting for this list on its own. But Modist has a summer seasonal variation with added sea salt and lime for an extra, margarita-like twist. While it shares ingredients with the popular icy cocktail, this is indisputably a drink crafted for beer fans and not just novelty. It's rare that Modist gives its beers such a clear, descriptive name. In this case it's because all three elements work together equally. The crisp, smooth lager sets the base, with soft bread and rice notes, plus a mild sweetness. Then a refreshing lime wash and a delicate touch of sea salt brings the freshness forward and, ultimately, makes you want another sip. There is a touch of salt on first impression, followed by classic lager, with a smooth blend of lime, followed by that last lick of salt. Sea Salt Lime offers similar flavors as those beachside mass market beers seen on commercials, but with more attention to detail and a full-flavored experience.

Modist Brewing Co's taproom is located in North Loop Minneapolis, near the Target Field light rail station. Supra Deluxe Sea Salt Lime is available on draft now and is sold in 12-packs and individual 19.2-ounce cans through the summer.

5. Utepils Brewing's Pontoon Afternoon

4.9% ABV

Utepils’ summer variation on a German traditional Kolsch-style ale adds raspberry, which compliments the naturally fruity yeast notes of the style with a toast and jam-like twist. Gold in color and relatively low in alcohol, this is a berry-forward beer that still tastes like a balanced beer where light cracker and biscuit flavors merge with a smooth, fresh dose of raspberry where natural malt sweetness brings down the berry’s sometimes overpowering tartness. The fruit addition partners with the yeast profile to give an extra kick to its inherent fruity flavors while remaining a classic European-style ale at heart. A fresh and fruity taste of summer in Minneapolis.