Texas’ Hottest New Summer Beers are Already Arriving — Dallas and Fort Worth Breweries Unveil Creative Brews

Everyone is ready to put Spring 2020 in the rearview mirror. The warmer weather beckons, and summer is on our doorstep. With that comes the promise of lazy days by rivers, lakes, and pools ― take your pick. Just anywhere but here, stuck inside.

While you’ve been holed up in your home, Dallas and Fort Worth breweries have been readying to whet your whistle with some uniquely North Texas flavors. They really know how to coax us out from that rock we’ve been hiding under. So, maybe dust off your flip-flops and dig out your cutoff jeans.

Summer is arriving early this year, and these sips might just save us.

Hop Fusion’s core beer, Hairpin Pale Ale, has garnered awards for the Fort Worth-based brewery, including the bronze it brought home from the 2017 U.S. Open Beer Championship. The popular beer got a summery tweak when Hop introduced a variation called Pineapple Hairpin, which features the same dry, crisp taste of the original, but aged with fresh pineapple. Hop Fusion’s promotional materials note: “Drinking it on a beach preferred but not required.”

Rahr & Sons Brewing Company rolled out Paleta de Mango last year, and the summer brew made a real splash. The relaxed 5-percenter features the juicy, tropical flavors of ripe mango, a squeeze of lime, and a dash of Mexican Pequin chile ― just like those South of the Border frozen pops (or paletas) it’s named for.

“Paleta de Mango is year-round beer that has been a huge success for us,” says brewery co-founder and CEO Fritz Rahr. Look for it in the mango-orange can.

If you’re in a sour mood, Martin House Brewing Company has a beer you definitely should try. Watermelon Crush Sour is on the lighter side with 4.2 percent alcohol.

“This is the beer for watermelon lovers,” Martin House’s website states. “What’s cool about watermelon crush is that it really is crushable. It’s not too sweet. Just a delicious, slightly lighter beer, brewed with watermelon juice.”

Wild Acre Brewing Company is about to release the second beer in this year’s Juicy Bingo series. The rotator varies slightly with each iteration.

“All of them hover around 7.5 percent with lots of hops. but they are low in bitterness,” says owner John Pritchett.

Juicy Bingo is a hazy IPA with tropical and fruit notes. The second version will release next week, with notes of candied orange and tropical fruit derived from a combination of Sabra, Bravo, and Trident hops ― clocking in at a hefty 7.8 percent alcohol.

Wild Acre will add a new iteration of its popular Texas Blonde this summer as well: an Imperial Pineapple variation.

New Texas Beers Everywhere

Panther Island Brewing offers up There Gose My Hero.  The six percent gose is a tribute beer to Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame. The blend of pink guava and pink Himalayan sea salt provides the perfect pucker. Panther Island’s team suggests that the new beer “plays well with pink flamingo floaties and above-ground pools.”

Deep Ellum Brewing Company, with breweries in both Fort Worth and Dallas, has introduced its Deep Summer Ale with some fresh-from-the-garden zing. This all-new summer sipper combines hibiscus, lemon peel, and chamomile flowers. Deep Ellum adds a touch of coriander seed and gentle hop to its newest offing.

Dallas-based Community Beer has added Texas’ first full-flavored low-calorie IPA to its lineup. Hop Skinny IPA is made with a special brewing processes that lowers the carbs and calorie count,while providing generous additions of Loral and Incognito hops. The result is a bright, spicy lemon-zest profile.

Community calls it the first craft “lifestyle IPA.”

Brand-new Cucumber Lime Paleta Weisse was just launched this week by Oak Cliff Brewing Company. It joins another summer-minded entry the company dropped in March: Strawberry Kiwi Paleta Weisse, which the brewery describes as their “tart Berliner Weisse, brewed with lactose and aged on fresh strawberries and kiwi.”

This summer, Lakewood Brewing Company combines two Texas favorites in one can. Lakewood’s Muy Importante is an ode to the classic margarita. They call this one seasonal, a margarita Mexican lager.

“It’s all the fun of a margarita with half the calories,” Lakewood states. Muy Importante has agave, orange, lime, and sea salt brewed right in.

Bring on the summertime brews.