Beer Seasonality: What Makes a Beer Seasonal?

Ever since the rise of the craft beer movement, beers have turned into a seasonal affair. Drinkers have become much more adventurous in tasting new beverages rather than more of the same. This is in stark contrast to beer makers wanting their drinks to taste spot-on back when large, macro breweries were skyrocketing. Nowadays, craft brewing is growing at a rapid pace, especially in Australia where people want a bevy of options.

Seasonal brews area perfect for those who are eager to taste new beverages as it provides you with an opportunity to learn more about the ever-expanding world of craft beer. With that said, we’ve put together this handy guide for seasonal beer-drinkers so they can familiarise themselves with the variety of flavours and styles that are indicative of each season.

Summer beers

Beaches, palm trees, and tan lines — those are the images that people conjure in their minds when summer approaches. Admittedly, summer beer styles share the same traits by being light and drinkable, making them perfect for cooling off with friends and family. Some of the great tasting flavours summer beers have to offer are:

• Fruit – Fruit beers that are light and crisp are a staple during the summer season. They’re refreshingly sweet and are easy to drink thanks to their low alcohol content. Shandy is a particular style of beer that highlights the tangy notes of lemonade whilst evenly distributing that signature beer taste.
  
• Pale and hoppy – Hopheads out there will enjoy a hoppy beer with a light malt body when summer arrives. Pale Ales along with their hoppier cousins, India Pale Ales (IPAs) come in a wide variety of flavours and are the perfect pairing for summer getaways and beach trips.
  
• Classic pilsner – Classic pilsners fit the description of summer beers perfectly. They’re light, not overly hoppy, and refreshing to drink. If you’re an adventurous beer drinker, don’t let the term “pilsner” put you off. There’s plenty of fun pilsners out there that explore the classic flavour profile of this Czech style.

Autumn beers

Come autumn, things start to simmer down. Fittingly, autumn beer styles are less concerned with being refreshing as most of them will start playing with a heavier body and more spiciness. In many ways, autumn beers were the first seasonal beers to become popular as the rest of the seasonal beers followed suit. Flavours and styles that are associated with autumn are:

• Pumpkin – It’s no surprise that pumpkin is the most autumn-inspired ingredient for beer during the fall season. Pumpkin beers often feature large amounts o cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. The pumpkin itself lends the beverages a heavier body, giving these beers a more dessert-like feel.
  
• Maple – Maple has become a popular flavour addition in fall beers. The syrupy flavour pairs perfectly with brown ales, making them less heavy compared pumpkin beers. The lightness of maple beers makes them an ideal drink before or after dinner.
  
• Amber – Amber beers are slightly darker than pale beers, with a heavier maltiness that matches the fall season very well. Well-known for being highly drinkable, amber beers come in plenty of varieties that make it easier to cater to your palate.

Winter beers

The cold winter months mean long days inside the house and settling in the freeze. Winter beers mirror the extended nights of the winter season as they tend to be dark and heavy. Many winter beers get into the holiday spirit by incorporating flavours that go well with winter feasting. Some winter beer flavours to try out during the deep winter are:

• Stouts and porters – Dark as the night with a creamy flavour, stouts and porters the heaviest beers of the year, thus leaving you with a warm fullness that matches well with hibernation. The many varieties of these beers mean you can find a stout or porter for your specific tastes.
  
• Imperial – In the winter when there aren’t any long vacation days to worry about, imperial beers become the beverage of choice. The added alcohol content gives off pleasant warmth, helping the colder winter nights more bearable for avid drinkers alike.

• Bourbon – Barrel aging is a popular technique used by winter brewers. They let the beer age in a used liquor barrel for months to create that signature oaky flavour. This works great on heavy, high-alcohol beers, making them well-suited for the long, colder months ahead.

Spring beers 

The dark winter has ended! Although the vast majority of springtime remains chilly, most drinkers are already looking forward to the sunshine and the great outdoors. The perfect beers for the season are:

• Dry – While winter beers are sweet and heavy, spring beers are the polar opposite.They’re not as light as summer beers either. Instead, spring beers are dry, meaning more of the sugars have been fermented. This leads to a crisp beverage that’s slightly more refreshing than most winter beer styles.

• Saisons – A Belgian style of beer that’s fermented with wild yeast, Saisons are commonly known as “funky” beers due to the complex flavour of the yeasts involved. Rich with sour notes and typically low in alcohol content, Saisons are perfect for celebrating the end of the hibernating season.
  
• Fresh hops – Spring is the beginning of the new hop season where many breweries start throwing in some fresh hops into their beverages. Fresh hops are usually lighter than the resiny hops found in autumn and winter styles, which makes this beer both light and bitter. Plus, spring is the perfect opportunity to taste test different beers that use different particular hop varietals, which can be pleasantly diverse in flavour profiles.