D
E
N
O
S
SEA DRINKER
t he
with Sophie Atherton
beers for ice cream, BBQ and SUNSHINE.
Sometimes all at the same time…
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f August blesses us with more hot weather, beer will be your best friend if you want an
alcoholic drink without the headache. Around a third of the strength of wine and mostly
made of water, beer is THE drink for summer. Lager is a superb thirst quencher and
the good news for confirmed foodies, and British beer lovers, is many traditional ale
brewers now make one – so you don’t have to drink big brand nasties. Look out for Korev
Cornish lager from St Austell Brewery, Chesil Pilsner from Dorset Brewing Company and,
beyond the local area, Shepherd Neame’s Whitstable Bay Blonde.
But you can stick with ale when the temperature soars, too. So long as it’s properly served
– which means cool, not cold, and certainly NEVER warm – cask ale can be delicious in
summer and its gentle carbonation (it’s not meant to be flat) means it slips down easy without
making you feel bloated.
Or how about a shandy? Make it yourself rather than opting for the pre-prepared stuff. Do
some research by tasting various beers, with a selection of different lemonades. Neither beer
nor lemonade should dominate the flavour, but don’t be afraid to use more beer than
lemonade. You could even throw a shandy party, asking each guest to bring a different beer
or lemonade to find the best recipe. Make sure you serve a hearty buffet so nobody goes
away worse for wear! Be it shandy-making or pairing with summery food, below are my
suggested local beers to try this month and some ideas for how to drink them.
Stroller
Southbourne Ales (4.6%)
An oatmeal stout may not be the first
beer you’d think of in summer. But I
reckon this award-winning beer from
one of Dorset’s newest breweries would
go down nicely paired with vanilla
ice cream; the beer has a dry, tangy
chocolate flavour and lasting chocolatey
aftertaste, which is shot through with
veins و\