Like most people, or at least a lot of people, I like a cold beer on a hot day. Crisp, refreshing, naturally carbonated, with a thick creamy head works best for me. Now I am not particular. I do not have brand loyalties. I will drink anything from Pabst Blue Ribbon to Sam Adams Triple Bock. It can come from the Rocky Mountains or the Lone Star state. Use the water from Narragansett Bay or Glacier Bay, it doesn’t matter to me. It can be Canadian, Japanese, Mexican, Italian or from right here in the good ol’ U S of A.

I do have my limits though. Hell or High Watermelon Ale, Sam Smith’s Strawberry Ale,

Black & Blue Wheat Beer, (blackberries & blue berries) , Pyramid Apricot Ale, Great Divide Wild Berry, these are the top five fruit beers as determined by an online contest for the summer of 2011.

Recently I was at the Boston Beer Works and people were walking around with chunks of watermelon in their beer. Over at the Seadog Brew House in Woburn I saw blueberries floating in pilsner glasses. Aren’t there enough alternative beverages with out perverting the one historic beverage that has stood the test of time! Seriously, wine coolers, malt beverages, hard ciders, hard lemonades, twisted teas, bottled cocktails, the list goes on and on and on. Do we really need to add pumpkins or cherries to a cold frosty. Now don’t get me wrong, I love lemonade, fruit punch and Cherry Coke. I eat fruit just about every single day, but do you have to put it my beer.

In Germany the government strictly regulates the ingredients and process used to brew beer. German’s love their beer. No where in those regulations will you find fruit. It’s trendy to drink Belgium white ales with a sliced orange or lemon twist. Blue Moon or Sam Summer with a slice please will never be uttered from these lips. Now I know what your saying , if you don’t like don’t drink it. I will admit that the curiosity factor piqued my interest but honestly, I wish it hadn’t.

So come the dog days of summer 2011, when the temperatures start rising and my throat is parched I’ll reach for a cold Bud or  a frosty Sam, maybe even an icy Stella but you can bet your last banana you won’t catch me with a fruity quaff , come hell or high watermelon.