The Central Texas Source for Craft Beer News

We all have that one brew-loving buddy. The one who comes to every summer get-together strapped with an arsenal of impressive craft beers. This year, you don’t have to waste time hoping they brought extra — you can be the life of the party!

It’s easier than ever to fill your cooler with ice and follow in their craft-sipping footsteps. Starting with the source: Tavour!

The app-based bottleshop offers sought-after craft beers from independent breweries across the country and delivers them right to your doorstep. It’s fast, it’s easy, and it’s a heck of a lot more fun than mooching off of your friends’ stash.

With the uniquely wide selection at Tavour members’ fingertips, it’s evident they have the inside scoop on some of the best brews to drink through the hottest months of the year. So, today we’re highlighting a few sunny-day sippers that have filled Tavour members’ beach-side coolers and beer koozies in summers’ past.

Here are the Top 10 highest member-rated summer beers:

#10. Other Half Brewing - New York - Double Dry Hopped All Together IPA - Rated 4.13 on Tavour

As with most of Other Half’s juice bombs, the brewery made Double Dry Hopped All Together to highlight the flavor of the hops. The simple grain bill allows Citra, Mosaic, Simcoe, and Cascade Hops to really shine — and the brewery’s double dry-hopping method includes two sessions with heavy helpings of hops in each.

In the case of this pillowy-soft brew, that means 2x the hoppy, ruby red grapefruit, ripe cantaloupe, and mango kush notes — all backed by a soft, citrusy bite on the finish. It’s a vibrant hop-cocktail that fans describe as “tropical juicy and lightly dank.”

#9. Energy City Brewing  - Illinois - Aloha Sunrise Sorbet Fruited IPA - Rated 4.21 on Tavour

Energy City’s Aloha Sunrise Sorbet IPA is the definition of Fruited Sour meets New England IPA. It’s a delicious, fruit-filled quencher that the brewers' craft with Citra Hops and staggering amounts of pineapples and oranges!

There’s over half a cup of fruit in every 16oz can, making each sip as soft and creamy as tropical sorbet, topped with fresh slices of drippy fruit. YUM!

#8. Toppling Goliath Brewing Co. - Iowa - Pseudo Sue American Pale Ale - Rated 4.22 on Tavour

Make no mistake, the hype around Pseudo Sue is very real. Scores of Toppling Goliath fans head into the brewery's taproom to load up on cans of this hopped-up Pale Ale that drinks like a full-fledged Imperial IPA!

Fans who’ve tasted Sue's 100% Citra-hopped profile — overflowing with ridiculously tasty notes of mango, passionfruit, and refreshing orange — know this to be true. It has a perfect 100/100 score on BeerAdvocate, after all!

#7. Great Notion Brewery - Oregon - Ripe IPA - Rated 4.25 on Tavour

https://www.instagram.com/p/CE7tTZzJZ6a/

Great Notion was the first brewery in Portland to make a Hazy IPA back in 2016, cementing their place in the city’s long and storied hop history. While fans were skeptical of those first juicy brews, they’ve since embraced the haze craze, clamoring for every new release!

Ripe is a local favorite. And rightfully so.

Each sip of this brew swells with flavors of fresh-squeezed OJ, dank papaya, and tropical mango — all from the Citra Hops! As the flavors subside, a faint echo of pithy bitterness lingers on the palate, quietly beckoning the next sip.

#6. WeldWerks Brewing - Colorado - Juicy Bits IPA - Rated 4.30 on Tavour

At the 2019 Great American Beer Festival, these Colorado haze masters were decorated in so much gold, King Midas would’ve wept with envy. Their coveted Juicy Bits made up the foundation for those gold-getting beers!

That’s because Juicy Bits is uniquely fantastic, thanks to WeldWerks’ dialed-in water chemistry that results in a pillowy mouthfeel.

High protein malts also lend a hand. And, by leaving some sugars in the brew instead of allowing them to turn into booze, the tropical citrus character of the Mosaic, Citra, and El Dorado Hops gets amped up even more.

#5. Anchorage Brewing Company - Alaska - Bite Imperial IPA - Rated 4.35 on Tavour

When seasoned Tavour members think of sought-after IPAs, we’re willing to bet Anchorage’s arsenal of flavor-packed hoppy brews pops into their hop-lovin’ heads every time.

This hair-raising, 9.5% ABV Imperial IPA is no exception to the excitement. Anchorage brewed it with nothing but lemon-limey Ekuanot Hops in the boil. Then, they added a load of Strata, Citra, and Citra Cryo in the dry hop, pumping up the silky-soft liquid with the flavors of an orange mango smoothie tinged by just a hint of dank cannabis.

#4. The Brewing Projekt  - Wisconsin - Draguavapple Puff Tart Fruited Sour - Rated 4.55 on Tavour

What the blazes is Draguavapple?

According to experimental brewmasters at The Brewing Projekt, it’s part dragonfruit, part guava, and part pineapple. Only, it's more deliciously complex than that. On top of copious additions of the real fruits, the brewers smoothed out this Fruited Sour with creamy doses of milk sugar and vanilla.

The result bursts with tangy layers of tropical fruit, balanced by a bit of guava sweetness. Each sip is reminiscent of a Caribbean Passion Jamba Juice smoothie, with a creamy twist.

#3. Evil Twin Brewing NYC - New York - ET STAY HOME 5 Berliner Weisse - Rated 4.59 on Tavour

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If you see a brew from Evil Twin’s ET Stay Home Fruited Sour series come across the Tavour app, we suggest you grab it FAST. Craft fans all over social media go bonkers every time a new version comes out; just look at what Tavour members rated this smoothie-like delight!

It’s certainly deserved! Version 5 comes stuffed with scoops of tangy-sweet passionfruit, gushing mango, and succulent peach. With each silky-soft sip, you might think you’re indulging in a tropical Paloma cocktail, garnished with a slice of stone fruit!

#2. Drekker Brewing - North Dakota - Braaaaaaaains Raspberry, Strawberry, Lime Double Fruited Sour - Rated 4.64 on Tavour

Try pouring one of these babies into your favorite glass, and it’ll move as slowly as lava flowing out of a volcano — it’s that thick!

And, it’s full of tangy, juicy flavor, all from massive additions of real fruit. This brew from Drekker’s famous Braaaaaaaains Double Fruited Sour series features the nectarous fusion of sweet, red berries and zesty citrus — blended with creamy vanilla, lactose, and a dash of sea salt. It’s even better than a berry milkshake straight from the blender.

#1. Casey Brewing & Blending - Colorado - Funky Blender Cherry & Vanilla Sour Ale - Rated 4.69 on Tavour

Beer geeks lucky enough to try Casey brews will tell you that the brewery makes beer as gorgeous as the region. Their Funky Blender Cherry with Madagascar Vanilla Barrel-Aged Sour, included!

Using heaps of real cherries and Madagascar vanilla, each sip of this expertly crafted Sour swims with all the flavor of a funked-out yet drinkable wild cherry pie filling, topped with a dollop of homemade whipped cream. Aged in oak barrels, complex hints of woody-spice delight the taste buds, begging another luxuriously effervescent sip.

Let's be honest, you won’t find lavish flavors like these on a store shelf. But, you will find them kickin’ back on the couch, scrolling through the Tavour app!

So go ahead, treat yourself — elevate those long-awaited hiking trips, BBQs, hammocking sessions, and boating extravaganzas with an exceptionally good beer. Heck, you deserve one-of-a-kind craft brews like these this summer! Cheers!