A Six-Pack Of Beer Cans To Bring To The Pool
By Chuck Sudo in Food on Jun 5, 2012 7:15PM
On Sunday, our own Benjy Lipsman tweeted out a question that was especially timely with the warm weather:
Is there a definitive list of best canned beers (specifically, available in Chicago)? My pool doesn't allow glass.
This is a problem facing people who live in buildings with pools across the city. And with MillerCoors' effectively advocating shotgunning MIller Lite in their latest ad campaign we figured, "why not take that punch can approach to some good beer?" Or better yet, don't and spend your money on a better beer?
Few things scream summer in the city like the sight of a can of beer in a cozy, sweating in the sun, the smell of a chlorine-shocked pool in the air as you're occasionally splashed by that rare idiot performing a cannonball in the deep end. Moreover, beer in cans simply taste better. Unlike bottles, which sunlight can shine through and lead to skunky beer, cans are mini kegs which sunlight can't penetrate.
To do a definitive list, however, would take a lot of time. with Chicago's status as a beer town growing by the day, we thought it may be a better idea to focus on six local cans you can bring to your pool. There's something for everyone here.
- Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale: For better or worse, this is Goose Island's best-selling beer. It has a flavor that's easily accessible for the Bud/Miller/Coors drinkers and the name of the beer traffics in civic pride, even if it isn't brewed in Chicago anymore. But you won't think twice about having a sixer nearby in the middle of July and you're trying to cool off poolside.
- Half Acre Daisy Cutter Pale Ale: Even though beer geeks have gone zombie for Three Floyds' Zombie Dust in the past year, Daisy Cutter's consistency and flavor still make it the best beer available retail in the area. Pop open a can on the deck of a rooftop pool and your nose immediately fills with the smell of fresh cut lawn and wildflowers.
- Finch's Golden Wing Blonde Ale: The one beer on this list that closest approximates the flavor of 312, Finch's Golden Wing is our favorite selection from the Albany Park brewery and a preferred summer selection.
- Wild Onion Summer Wit: This very underrated brewpub in Lake Barrington has been canning their beers for a while. While our tastes would veer toward Wild Onion's Paddy Pale Ale, their summer witbier is another accessible and tasty pool beer.
- Two Brothers Outlaw India Pale Ale: The Warrenville brewery recently purchased a new canning line and this IPA is their first offering from that. The only other way you're going to get your hands on this beer is if you visit either Two Brothers brewpub in Warrenville or Aurora. And bringing a keg to the pool would seem so unseemly.
- Capital Island Wheat Ale: Notice a trend here? Wheat ales tend to be more accessible for fans of light beers and mass-produced lagers. Capital Brewery sources their wheat for this beer from Washington Island, Wisc. The climate and soil there combine to grow a subtle malt. It's still sweet, but not sugary like 312 can sometimes feel on the palate. The hopping on Island Wheat give a noticeable citrus flavor to the beer, with the bite and spice redolent of hops rounding out the beer on the finish.