Your Beer Calendar

For the most part I do the same thing. Other than pumpkin beers. I don't do pumpkin beers, man.

 

The only reason I do this is availability. For example, I drink Märzen/Oktoberfest and fresh hop beers only in the fall, and SN Celebration around Christmas. And those are about the only examples I can think of. Everything else I basically drink year round with no rhyme or reason. Just depends on what I'm in the mood for.

 

Honestly, I understand the enjoyment of certain styles during certain seasons but I don't understand choosing not to drink a certain style just because it's a certain season. This isn't directed towards the OP necessarily, it just got me thinking because last night I was enjoying De Struise's Cuvee Delphine on tap. It's an RIS that's aged on Four Roses barrels and it's fantastic. I offer some to a friend of a friend who I know is a bartender and a cocktail junkie and I'm pretty sure he likes Four Roses but he says "No, that's something I'll only be able to enjoy during the winter..." Yeah, totally his loss, more for me, blah blah blah, but you rarely see that beer anywhere, much less on tap so why blow an opportunity to try a beer that's rated 93 on BA just because it's summer? Sorry to kinda hijack the thread and the guy I'm referring to isn't a beer nut like me but I love almost all styles during all seasons and will never hesitate to drink a good beer just because its style doesn't match the season. Not trying to be a doucher, just offering different perspective.

 

Summer - Hefes, wits, Belgian pale Ales, Saisons, Pilseners (for the most art)

Fall & Winter - Malt bombs - Oktoberfests, Belgian Dark Ales, Quads, Dopplebocks, Stouts, Porters

Spring - Dopplebocks, Maibocks, Munich Dunkles, Porters

 

All beers at all times.

 

I try to follow seasonal releases when I can, but my mood dictates a lot of my choices. Nothing is going to stop me from drinking an imperial stout on a 95 degree day or a saison in the heart of winter. Hell, it's August and I have an Octoberfest in my hand as I'm typing this.

 

I do enjoy certain seasonals, for example Celebration around the winter holidays, Nugget Nectar in late winter/early spring, but on a yearly basis, the only thing on my beer calendar is what days I allow myself to drink, which is weekends. Otherwise, I would weigh twice what I weigh now and my wife would think I'm an alcoholic and would make me to go AA meetings or something similar.
But this question is like the old liquor thing - Vodka & Gin in the summer, Scotch & Bourbon in the winter and to a lesser extent the wine thing - Red with meats, White with fish. It just doesn't matter anymore. Drink what you like.

 

Year round: APA, IPA, IIPA, bitters, sours
Winter: increase IIPA, less APA, add stouts, porters, browns
Spring: increased APA, increase bitters, browns, mild, ambers
Summer: increase APA, mild, blonde, pilsner, increase blonde sours
Fall: increase IPA, porters, stouts, o-fest, ambers, increase red and brown sours

 

Winter (Fall): BDPAs, Tripels, Quads, Stouts & Porters.
Spring: Maibocks, Munich Helles, Bière de Garde and IPAs.
Summer: Hefeweizens and wheats, BPAs and IPAs.

 

homebrewing? absolutely, I do a ton of seasonal brewing.
commercial? any style, any time of year, don't care.

 

I think drinking seasonally makes perfect sense. When I used to drink booze I'd have martinis in the warmer months and Manhattans in the cooler months. Many wine folks prefer white styles in the spring/summer and reds in the fall/winter. With food, fish, salads, and chicken dishes transitions to steaks, roasts, and stews. So associating most lighter-colored or lighter-bodied beers with the warmer part of the year and the darker and/or heavier beers with the coolest part of the year just seems logical.

IPAs, however, are kinda like my sushi. I just get too much out of it to put off for a few months.

 

Can honestly say I drink what I want when I want regardless of the season. I bought a W00tstout last night and drank and enjoyed the hell out of it despite the fact that it was in the mid 90's. Same with hefe's or saisons, it doesn't have to be a certain season for me to enjoy them. It when the mood strikes me.

 

my percentages may change, skewing toward lighter beers in the warm months vs an uptick in stouts/barleywines/quads starting in the fall and lasting throughout winter. however i will happily nurse a 12% barrel aged something or other in the middle of July. it's just a matter of what i'm in the mood for.

 

I tend to go heavy on the IPAs in warmer weather but it depends what I feel like drinking. I love a barrel barley or a massive stout when its snowing outside.

 

I very much drink according to a calendar which not only takes into account Season but also differentiates between workday, weekend, special occasion, etc. I even have a beer I drink only during Red Sox games (Naragansett Lager).

 

My favorite is the only one that cannot be a victim of seasonal creep, Wet/Fresh Hop Ale Season, which starts now with the picking and in two/three weeks for the drinking. This year will be my first time making one with my second year Chinooks. Goes into the brew kettle on Tuesday.

 

Monday - Drink Beer
Tuesday - Drink Beer
Wednesday - Drink Beer
Thursday - Drink Beer
Friday - Drink Beer
Saturday - Drink Beer
Sunday - Drink Beer