beer beer beer

It's no secret that I love beer.  I can drink Bud Light when the occasion calls for it...

... and yes, sometimes this is totally appropriate... but I'm really a sucker for delicious, unique, seasonal beer.  So with summer ending (hey, in the south, summer ends in October) and fall on the horizon, I decided to share some of my favorite summer and fall beers.  Sam Adam's Summer Ale is probably my favorite go to beer in the summer.  I've actually been known to hoard summer ale in August so that I could drink it throughout the fall and winter.

Although Sam's Summer is my favorite go-to, I also have a love affair with some other summer New England beers.  Maine is known for it's blueberries, and it also has fantastic blueberry beer.  You will often see blueberry beer served with blueberries floating on top in New England/Maine, and it makes me oh-so-happy.  After our Maine trip in July, I was craving my favorite blueberry beer and was excited to find that the local beer store (Sam's Quik Shop) sells Sea Dogs!  Along with blueberries fresh picked in Lincolnville, Scott and I were able to bring some of Maine to North Carolina.

Beer is more enjoyable in our fancy pint glasses!

Maine Beer with Maine blueberries on top!

Not too long ago, I went on my very first brewery tour at Triangle Brewing Company in Durham.  If you are local and have never been, I highly recommend it!  More free beer than any person should drink on a Saturday afternoon, along with an informative tour.  Their Habenero Pale Ale is really unique (and spicy).  Their Belgian-style Lambic is great for a non-beer-lover - it tastes mostly like liquid sour patch kids.  When we were there they still had their summer seasonal - the Farmhouse - which is a great beer with fruity notes.

A while back, we went to dinner at Milltown in Carborro, and along with my portabello sandwiches, I tried a Victory Golden Monkey, which is a strong Belgian ale at 9.5%, and all of the above were DELICIOUS.

roasted portabella with leeks, spinach, peppers, chive havarati cheese, & a pesto cream sauce

overall light body with herbal, fruity notes...delicious!

Now that it's getting colder, I'm shifting to another great love of mine: PUMPKIN.  There are so many great Pumpkin beers out there.  In 2010, I discovered Cottonwood Pumpkin Spiced Ale, which I SWEAR tastes exactly like a spiced pumpkin latte.  I'll definitely be picking up a 6 pack of that soon.  Recently, I have been drinking Shock Top's Pumpkin Wheat, which is a pretty basic fall wheat beer.... perfect for a Blue Moon or Shock Top lover who wants to feel more fall-esque.

Those are some of my more recent favorites... what are some of yours?