Friday certainly prompted the annual stare down at the sweaty cooler door, while you re-calibrate the criteria for your beer selection. Yes, summer is unofficially here, or it at least just poked it's head in the door and screamed our name for a couple of days. Certain criteria now come to the front of the brain at selection time - things like refreshing, lighter weight, and possibly even imported. Here's a list of my Top Ten hot weather beers for the summer. Mind you, this is HOT weather stuff - not sunny and 70 degrees with a cool ocean breeze. For those 'regular' summer days, I'm generally still functioning in the range of; IPA (Sebago, Dogfish Head, Smuttynose, Red Hook), Pale Ale (Andrew's, Smuttynose, Shipyard Chamberlain), Summer Ale (Gritty's, Geary's, Casco Bay), and maybe even a Gritty's Best Bitter.
Summer is a time for breaking a few rules, isn't it? Maybe a little more red meat, maybe letting the kids stay up a little later, a couple of not-so-sick days, a few more trips to the ice cream stand - all of which I will likely do these next three months. The hot summer beer selection is no different - maybe a little fruit, maybe a little imported, may even a little - ssh (sideways glances) - domestic. So....the Top 10 HOT Summer Day brews.

All of a sudden I woke up and it had been nearly 3 weeks since my last posting. What the Hell happened? Other than these 3 scars on my abdomen, which are in the shape of a triangle, about 1 inch apart - I have no idea. That and the fact that I keep watching the movie "Fire in the Sky" over and over. Well, anyway, I'm back and aside from the missing time, am feeling fine.