Recharge and relax by the fire with the perfect beer.
There is nothing like sitting by the fire and cracking a cold one. Nothing defines spring and summer like sitting around a fire with good friends, telling some fish stories, and most importantly having an ice cold beer. So, do it up right this year with the perfect beer from the list below.
Now there are, in my mind, two types of camping and fires. Cold nights, when you want to warm up and keep close to the fire, and, of course, there are the warm and hot nights when the campfire is a social gathering.
I'll break up the beers into these two groups.
I went with all craft beers, because if you're still bringing plain old Budweiser to a campfire, you're doing it all wrong.
For Cold Nights
Dragon's Milk - New Holland Brewing Company
When you're trying to keep warm and sitting around a fire nothing gets the juices flowing like a bourbon barrel stout. This is not a beer for the faint of heart, especially if you get the reserve as pictured here. At 12-17-percent ABV it packs a potent punch, but the vanilla, coffee and chocolate mellow it out.
Big Bad Baptist - Epic Brewing Company
Another amazing stout with a whiskey flavor. This beer is aged in whiskey barrels giving it a nice whiskey and somewhat smokey flavor. On a personal note this has quickly become one of my personal favorites.
Colossal Oversight - Oddside Ales
This is the last bourbon aged one I promise. The whiskey notes are VERY mellowed by the sweet caramels in the beer. If you are looking to test a barley wine I would start with this one.
Accumulation - New Belgium
So you don't like dark beers? Good, Accumulation is a white IPA that is sure to keep you warm if the fire doesn't. It is a smooth but bitter. I hope you like hops.
Winter Ale - Alaskan
An Ale brewed with spruce tips? Oh, hell yes. As it's only a seasonal beer, it's worth blowing your budget to stock up. This is a sweet English style ale with a smooth spruce finish.
Fuller's ESB - Fuller Smith & Turner PLC
The Extra Special Bitter. It starts off sweet with a bitter finish. Sure to last until the fire burns out. If you're a fan of drier hops this is the IPA for you.
Indian Brown Dark IPA - Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Sometime's you can't pick between a scotch ale, an IPA, or an American Brown. With this one you don't have to. It's a unique hybrid of the three that tastes amazing.
For Warm Nights
Fat Tire - New Belgium
If I had to drink just one beer for the rest of my life, this would probably be the beer. This amber goes great with almost any occasion, and a campfire is no exception.
Two Hearted - Bell's Brewing
Nothing sums up summer like an IPA and fishing and this beer has fish on the bottle. It's also a great refreshing beer, often the first IPA people are exposed to.
All Day IPA - Founder's Brewing Company
You camp to get away and relax. If your idea of relaxed is sitting around a fire for a day and sharing some good beers with friends nothing will top the All Day IPA. With a hint of orange and caramel, this is the perfect beer for summer.
Oberon - Bell's Brewing
I hate this damn beer but everyone else loves it. A very light wheat ale, only available in summer, it just goes hand in hand with camping, I guess.
Alaskan Summer Ale - Alaskan Brewing Company
A kolsch beer that is light and refreshing. After a hard day of fishing or setting up camp reward yourself with this. With a hint of hops this beer is perfect to unwind with for the night.
Dirty Blonde - Atwater Brewing
Keeping with the light and refreshing, Atwater's Dirty Blonde deserves a place in your cooler this summer. With a light citrus flavor I recommend this as an alternative to oberon. It's just a simple, light, and crisp beer. Plus, you get to say, "Mmmm, I love a Dirty Blonde." My wife hates that joke.
Alaskan Amber Ale - Alaskan Brewing Company
Another amber that's perfect for summer. Great for pairing with fried fish that you are enjoying around the campfire. Or great for just sitting around the fire.
So hopefully you found something on this list that you like or are interested in trying. If not let me know your go to campfire beer. Thanks to Mr. Liquid Bread for helping me with this list.
NEXT: SIGHT FISHING FOR STURGEON, BECAUSE WHY NOT?
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