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The best summer beers, despite the arguments of some contrarians, are light, cool and refreshing, but that doesn't have to mean just lager, lager and more lager.
When you're hot and bothered, nothing satisfies a thirst better than bitterness biting the back of your throat on the way down, and sourness, reminiscent of homemade lemonade, can also work wonders.
Here are 10 thirst-quenching options, chosen by the UK-brewing afficionados behind Boak & Bailey .
Click on the gallery to see the IndyBest buys
Show all 10 1 /1010 best British beers 10 best British beers St Austell Korev Now available in cute and portable 330ml cans, this classy Cornish lager, in the Munich Helles style, has the benefit of tasting fresher than most imports. Don’t judge us: we’ve been enjoying drinking it straight from the tin.
£32 for 24 cans, staustellbreweryshop.co.uk
10 best British beers Brew By Numbers Saison This up-and-coming London brewery produce so many different beers that they use a numbering system: anything beginning 01 is a Belgian-style summer 'saison' with a twist. We most recently enjoyed a spritzy, Pimms-like variant with cucumber and juniper.
£2.80, eebria.com
10 best British beers Lees Manchester Pale Ale A rather old-fashioned family brewery, this attempt by Lees to brew a hoppy golden ale is actually something of an homage to Boddington's Bitter as it was 40 years ago - quenchingly bitter, dry and bluntly northern. Best enjoyed in the cool gloom of the back room of a pub.
£14 for case of 8, jwlees.co.uk
10 best British beers Thornbridge Tzara The team at this Derbyshire brewery express a distinct streak of Germanophilia and this beer is their precisely-observed homage to the traditions of the city Cologne. The native beer style, Kölsch, looks and tastes much like any other lager except for a subtle, flowery fruitiness derived from a distinctive yeast. Short of a weekend break, Tzara is the best way to experience it – far fresher than any imported bottle.
£23.80 for 12, thornbridgebrewery.co.uk
10 best British beers Schlenkerla Helles An oddity from Bamberg in the beer paradise of Franconia, Germany. The brewery’s flagship products are dark, bacon-y Rauchbiers made with smoked malt. This pale lager often, but not always, picks up a subtle smokiness on its way through the brewing kit. Perfect with grilled meat.
€23.00 for 20, schlenkerla.de
10 best British beers Schneider Weisse Original The most interesting of the German wheat beers, darker and a little more complex than its rivals, Schneider Weisse is nonetheless great fun: banana, bubblegum and toffee flavours all wrapped up in an effervescent body, under a Mr Whippy head.
only available in certain bars, schneider-weisse.de
10 best British beers Hoegaarden It’s not the trendiest product – the brand is owned these days by AB-InBev of Stella Artois fame – but remains the gold standard for the coriander and orange peel infused Belgian wheat beer style. Straightforwardly satisfying, it’s great value in bottles, too.
only available in certain bars, hoegaarden.com
10 best British beers Redemption trinity Billed as a ‘light ale’, this zippy, zesty ale from London is just intoxicating enough to keep your buzz going throughout a long afternoon session in a beer garden. Pick your pub carefully, though: it needs to be served cellar-cool.
only available in certain bars, redemptionbrewing.co.uk
10 best British beers Magic Rock Salty Kiss This attempt to revive an almost extinct German beer style, Gose, by the cult Huddersfield-based brewery is not an earnest academic exercise: it’s like Tango for grown-ups. Salty and snappily sour, it has also included various fruits, from lime to gooseberry. Our top beer of 2013.
only available in certain bars, magicrockbrewing.com
10 best British beers Wild Beer Co Ninkasi This ‘celebration beer’ is brewed by a Californian in Somerset, using Belgian yeast and a small amount of apple juice. Finished off and packaged like Champagne, it’s great for sharing, and much more refreshing than the strength might lead you to believe.
only available in certain bars, wildbeerco.com
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1. St Austell Korev (bottle/keg/can, 4.8%), £32 for 24 cans
2. Brew By Numbers Saison (ABV varies), £2.80
3. Lees Manchester Pale Ale (cask, 3.7%), £14 for case of 8
4. Thornbridge Tzara (keg/bottle, 4.8%), £23.80 for 12
5. Schlenkerla Helles (bottle, 4.3%), €23.00 for 20
6. Schneider Weisse Original (bottle, 5.4%), only available in certain bars
7. Hoegaarden (keg/bottle, 4.9%), only available in certain bars
8. Redemption trinity (cask, 3%), only available in certain bars
9. Magic Rock Salty Kiss (keg, 5%), only available in certain bars
10. Wild Beer Co Ninkasi (bottle, 9%), only available in certain bars
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