A guide to the best lambics, pale ales, and beers to quench your summertime thirst.

1. Saison Dupont: Belgian is in, organic is in and that makes a bottle of Saison Dupont a prize. It’s clear, light, snappy, expensive and worth every penny.

2. Lindeman’s Framboise or Peche Lambic: Summer beer means fruity, so go for the raspberry or peach varieties of this Belgian lambic. It’s sweet stuff, and “lambic” sounds exotic to the uninitiated, so the girls will love it.

3. Beer Lao: You’ve seen the t-shirts and now it is time to try the actual beer. Beer Lao is hands down the best beer in all of Southeast Asia. Any beer that good, from a place that hot and humid, is great for summer.

4. Southern Tier Hop Sun: This exceptional complex beer combines the best elements of a summer wheat beer with a little pale ale flavor.

5. Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale: The title is quite a mouthful, but this America Pale Ale is building a big reputation with summer brew snobs. You know and trust the Sierra Nevada name, so give this exotic brew with its New Zealand hops a spin.

6. Anchor Steam Summer Beer: Summer beer also means light and wheat, and that is where this brew comes in. It’s light, dry, tasty and just the thing for quenching a thirst or going with your spiciest barbecue.

7. Schlafly Summer Kolsch Ale: Straight from St. Louis, this is simply a fine beer. Mid-bodied and not swirling with complexity - and therefore the ideal thing to top off a hot, sweaty day.

8. Wolaver’s Pale Ale: Once again, I think of pale ales as being a little too heavy for the end of a truly hot, active summer day. Wolaver’s is a yummy exception. Best of all: it’s organic.

9. Sam Adams Cherry Wheat: Cherries are the perfect summer berry, so you can’t go wrong with Sam Adams summer seasonal classic.

10. Widmer Hefeweizen: It gets a bum rap, but it’s a solid wheat beer that has introduced many Gen Xers to microbrews. Plop in your lemon slice and enjoy.

Submitted By: Rich Thomas