Amber Waves: Surfing and Beer Just Go Together
As a surfer, my favorite time of the year is the fall. The ocean reaches its warmest temperatures of the year, and the air is still pleasant and dry. In a good season, offshore hurricanes bring swell for weeks on end. There is nothing better than catching a great surf session before heading back to watch the Birds stomp on the Redskins while enjoying a couple of cold ones with friends!
Surfing and beer are a match made in heaven and it is not difficult to understand why. Both involve a liquid with a foamy surface, and like surfers, each beer has its own style. Heck, beers are often golden or bronze, like the skin of a sun-kissed surfer girl. Drink too much beer and you might be more likely to wipe out.
Several breweries have incorporated surfing terminology in naming some of their beers, and here is the best of the best:
Kona Big Wave Golden Ale
Dry, crisp, and easy drinking, this golden ale drops in easier than Gerry Lopez at the Pipe. A Hawaiian-based brewery, Kona prides itself on making beers that represent “Liquid Aloha.” Also try Longboard Island Lager, a lighter offering from Kona with a surf theme that will never go out of style.Kane Head High IPA
From a local brewery situated in Ocean, N.J., near Asbury Park, this beer is like a winter swell in Bayhead: slightly murky, with a solid malt bill, and it brings the juice! Mostly available up north, but sometimes you can find it in the bigger liquor stores.Beach Haus Swell New England IPA
Another Jersey offering, this beer is a bit lighter and more easygoing than Head High. I’d say its more like waist high. A nice summertime selection, it goes down easy and reminds me of those hazy summer nights drinking on the back porch.Maui Bikini BlondeBesides riding waves, there’s nothing this surfer likes more than a gorgeous blonde in a bikini. This beer sips with the fluid style and grace of that same sexy surf chick walking the nose and hanging ten.
As Spicoli said: “Surfing’s not a sport, it’s a way of life, it’s no hobby,” and the surfing lifestyle often leads to a lot of travel. Every country with waves has its own unique breweries, and often the national brew is the only beer available in the local stores. Most of the time this means light lager or pilsner, but when it’s super hot outside, nothing quenches your thirst more than an ice-cold foreign lager. Here are some of my favorite beers from around the world that remind me of surf trips of the past.
Australia: Tooheys New Lager
The beer of New South Wales with the deer on the label is perfectly suited for Australia’s hot climate. Best drank from a schooner glass. Forget Foster’s, this was my favorite of the Australian macros.Portugal: Super Bock
It sounds like it should be a potent malty booze bomb, but this is actually a very crisp and light lager that is the most ubiquitous beer in Portugal.Costa Rica: Imperial
This beer stands on its own as a delicious lager. A little bit of malt body gives it some flavor, but it still goes down very smooth. Pura Vida!Mexico: Pacifico
When I went to Mexico, I couldn’t find a Corona anywhere. Instead, I drank ochos (eight-packs) of Pacifico cans. It was on tap at The Whitebrier this summer and started to outpace Stella as my top lager this year. This West Coast beer is making a big push on the East Coast.Panama: Cerveza Panama
I wish we could get this beer in America. It was a long time ago that I went across the famous canal to Bocas del Toro, but from my recollection this beer was as good as any from Central America or the Caribbean.
