1. Bauhaus Brew Lab's Lawn Barber

4.0% ABV

Sometimes you just want a beer: cool, crisp, refreshing but not reinventing the wheel. Lawn Barber, a nod to the “lawnmower beer” term of endearment for light lagers, pours light gold/yellow in color. It’s extremely bubbly with a foamy white head, and it drinks clean and crisp with cracker and bread notes with subtle citrus and floral tones. It’s a versatile beer for any occasion, especially a hot day and a backyard cookout – or for pairing with Animales Barbeque, which is frequently parked at Bauhaus Brew Labs’ Northeast taproom. It’s a light-bodied, easy-drinking beer for when you need refreshment without wanting indulgence.

2. Fair State Brewing Cooperative's KÖLD

4.7% ABV

A Kölsch-style ale brewed in German tradition, this ale pours light gold in color with a big, frothy white head. It’s deceptively simple and classic, giving those cracker notes with some malt sweetness and dancing fruity esters that give both spice and fruity essence. It begins crisp and dry, but a sweet bread with spice rises through the experience, with more fruitiness over time. The beer is primarily crisp and, but with layers of complimentary flavors, including deceptive sweet tones in the form of fruit, melon, and strawberry flavors. While many Kölsch-style ales are subtle, burying the fruitiness in the aroma, KÖLD takes a bold, yet light-bodied, approach to the style.

KÖLD is a year-round beer, sold on draft, in 6-packs, and 12-packs. Fair State Brewing Cooperative also hosts nights of traditional Kölsch service semi-regularly, which keeps glasses full, cold, and fresh through the evening.

3. Indeed Brewing Company's Raspberry Lemonade Cream Ale

5.2% ABV

File under fresh, this is a fruited cream ale with soft raspberry and subtle lemon to complement the biscuit and corn flavors of the base cream ale. It's soft on the tongue like the best cream ales, but this recipe has a raspberry-forward smooth sweetness that leads the experience. It's unmistakably beer, with toast and other grain-based flavors, but the raspberry makes it stand out from the norm. While raspberry is the biggest flavor here, it's more mild than tart, with lemon giving a little subtle bite at the end that compliments the hops and makes for a clean finish that doesn't linger on the tongue. It's light body and balanced raspberry approach make it a beer you can come back to instead of being one-and-done.

Indeed Brewing's Raspberry Lemonade Cream Ale is sold in the summer mixed pack, along with three other bright and fruit-forward beers (Brightside Sea Salt & Lemon Lager, Rosa Fresca Hibiscus & Lime Lager, and Paloma Sour Ale).

4. La Doña Cervecería's El Super Classico Lager

4.2% ABV

This beer will look familiar: light in color, golden, and bubbly. While it looks like the beers on TV, it has a lot more depth of flavor carefully packed into a light Mexican-style lager. Brewed in collaboration with La Tapatia restaurant, this balanced lager is clean and crisp, building from a cracker and corn first impression that begins dry and builds in sweetness, finishing with a balanced sweet corn meets crisply hopped finish. This blends a light pine presence with corn tortilla, for a Mexican-style lager experience that hop fans can enjoy too. There are subtle notes of papaya and melon layered within, making it a complex light beer that perfectly complements a summer taco night.

El Super Classico is available at the brewery in the Harrison neighborhood. La Doña also sells Golden Ticket, a regular Mexican-style lager collaboration with Urban Growler of Saint Paul.

5. Modist Brewing Co's Sea Salt Lime Supra Deluxe

5% ABV

Supra Deluxe is year-round Japanese-style crisp lager that would be fitting for this list on its own. But Modist has a summer seasonal variation with added sea salt and lime for an extra, margarita-like twist. While it shares ingredients with the popular icy cocktail, this is indisputably a drink crafted for beer fans and not just novelty. It's rare that Modist gives its beers such a clear, descriptive name. In this case it's because all three elements work together equally. The crisp, smooth lager set the base, with soft bread and rice notes, plus a mild sweetness. Then a refreshing lime wash and a delicate touch of sea salt brings the freshness forward and, ultimately, makes you want another sip. There is a touch of salt on first impression, followed by classic lager, with a smooth blend of lime, followed by that last lick of salt. Sea Salt Lime offers similar flavors as those beachside mass market beers seen on commercials, but with more attention to detail and a full-flavored experience.

Modist Brewing Co's taproom is located in North Loop Minneapolis, near the Target Field light rail station. Supra Deluxe Sea Salt Lime is available on draft now and is sold in 12-packs and individual 19.2-ounce cans through the summer.