The South's Best Summer Beers

Athens, Georgia

If you’re not familiar with the style known as gose, it’s become the go-to beer of summer. Briny, tart, and light, their subtle saltiness makes them like a beach trip in a can. This gose from Creature Comforts gets an extra burst of refreshment from cooling cucumber and zesty lime. creaturecomfortsbeer.com

Birmingham, Alabama

It’s not uncommon to find one of Southern Living’s editors posted up at this Birmingham brewery, but they’re more than a hometown favorite. Their newest brew, Juco, is a seasonal summer IPA with all the hoppiness you expect, but all the lightness of a pilsner. goodpeoplebrewing.com

Durham, North Carolina

While this pale ale makes for the perfect porch beer during jungle-like dew points, it gets its name from its hazy look imparted by locally farmed barley and rye-wheat hybrid used to make it. Think oranges and pineapples sticky with honey. fullsteam.ag

Water Valley, Mississippi

If you’re more of a High Life or Bud drinker, you have nothing to fear and everything to gain by making the step to this pilsner with all the classic crispness you’re looking for and all the flavor you didn’t know you were missing. yalobrew.com

Memphis, Tennessee

Much like a gose, minus the saltiness, berliner weisses are like the lemonade of the beer world. This Memphis-made one from Wiseacre gets a juicy jump of watermelon, which gives it a truly Southern summer taste. wiseacrebrew.com

Krebs, Oklahoma

Prairie Artisan Ales may have drew us in initially with their label designs, but they’ve kept us interested with their unorthodox recipes. This gose gets its brightness from orange and an earthy, herbal note from coriander. prairieales.com

Bayou Teche, Louisiana

In Louisiana, strawberry season is cause for celebration with everyone from chefs to brewers and distillers using the fruits of the season in everything they can until time runs out. Bayou Teche’s IPA brewed with local strawberries has a spicy punch from the addition of peppers to the brewing process. bayoutechebrewing.com

Raleigh, North Carolina

The name might make you think this style is heavy and thick, but cream ales are a closer cousin to the Kolsch with a snappy freshness. This tiny brewery outside of Raleigh makes one of our favorites with locally grown Yates Mill corn. With this as your lawnmower beer, you will have the yard of the month. trophybrewing.com

Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

For fans of Westbrook’s One Claw Rye IPA, Two Claw takes it one step further with a bigger burst of fruit forwardness like mango, papaya, and pleasantly bitter grapefruit with a still spicy background from the rye. westbrookbrewing.com

Birmingham, Alabama

While it might look like we’re playing favorites with Birmingham breweries, Trimtab’s Paradise Now, a berliner weiss with sweet tart raspberries, has impressed so many of our out-of-town visitors they can’t wait to return. trimtabbrewing.com