Chicagoist's Beer Of The Week: Victory Brewing's 'Summer Love' American Blonde Ale

By Jason Baldacci in Food on May 31, 2013 9:05PM

We usually try to keep our beers of the week local to Chicago and the Midwest, but every now and then, something comes along from a little bit further away that we're just too excited about to stay quiet. Almost every Craft Brewery in America brews a summer seasonal, and many of those beers start hitting store shelves in April or May. We see a lot of wheat beers, fruit beers, and IPAs this time of year (although we tend to see a ton of India Pale ales all throughout the year at this point), but one of our favorite summer beers is a little bit different, and comes to us from Downington, Pennsylvania.

The appropriately named "Summer Love" is an American Blond Ale from Victory Brewing Co. Brisk, floral hops meet toned German malts to make this beer incredibly flavorful, yet balanced, and all too perfect to drink outside on a hot, Summer day. There's a touch of earthy citrus on the nose, and while the hops are very present on the palate, they're not overwhelming at all. Crisp, biscuity malts provide a solid backbone, but keep things relatively light-bodied while the beer packs a bit of a punch up front, yet finishes nice and clean. At 5.2 percent alcohol content, Summer Love is a beer you can drink way too many of and live to tell the tale.

One of our favorite things about Summer Love, besides the taste, is that you can eat almost anything with it. It's hoppy enough to stand up to spicy foods, but not so much that it'll overpower more delicate dishes. If you're going to grill anything, and we mean just about anything, this beer is possibly the closest thing to foolproof you could pick up. Whether you're cooking up some burgers, chicken, or even peaches (yes, grilled peaches, thank us later), you can go wrong with Summer Love.

Look for Summer Love on tap and in 6-packs this weekend, check beermenus.com to see where you can find it in your neighborhood.