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 an expanding product line, on tap at Bauhaus Brew Labs and sold in a summer sampler pack sold in area stores. 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. Bauhaus also makes a Patio Pack sampler for the summer, with a Mexican-style lager, a hazy IPA, and a West Coast-style IPA. More limited releases are available on tap at the brewery in Northeast Minneapolis.

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 esters that give both spice and fruity essence. It begins crisp and dry, but with a rising flavor reminiscent of spiced sweet bread, amplifying a natural fruity element over time. The beer is primarily crisp, 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 offers traditional Kölsch service, which keeps glasses full, cold, and fresh, for those seated at the bar during regular taproom hours.

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

The original recipe Supra Deluxe is year-round Japanese-style crisp lager that would be a natural fit 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 cocktail, this is indisputably a drink crafted for beer fans and not just novelty. All three elements of Sea Salt Lime Supra work together equally. The crisp, smooth lager sets the base, with soft bread and rice flavors complimented by 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. The first sip gives a light touch of salt, followed by classic lager, with a smooth blend of lime, followed by that last lick of salt.

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-ounce cans (6- and 12-packs). Modist also makes a light version of the original Supra lager.

5. Utepils Brewing's Pontoon Afternoon

4.9% ABV

Utepils adds raspberry to a Kolsch-style ale, 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 instead of a fruit bomb. The raspberry hits first with big jammy notes, which transition to a more traditional Kolsch flavor profile that blends sweet grains with fruity yeast esters.

Pontoon Afternoon is available at the Utepils taproom, featuring a creekside beer garden just down the road from Theodore Wirth Park. Additional seasonal beers include the Belgian-style Season of the Wit and a Dortmunder Lager, a crisp easy-drinking lager with honey sweet toast notes and a classic, bitter finish.