Twelve Session Beers to Sip This Summer

After a long and rainy start to the summer, the typical warm, dry weather has finally arrived. It's time to start enjoying the long summer days on the many brewery patios around town.

Here are our picks for ten beers to try when you’re spending time outside this summer. They’re all lower in alcohol, too, coming in at or below 4 percent ABV, allowing you to enjoy a refreshing, full flavored beer in the heat without feeling too heavy or tired afterward.

Whether you’re biking to a brewery, enjoying a nice mountain hike, or you just want to sip well into the evening, here are eleven beers to check out this summer:
Cohesion Brewing: 8⁰ Stolní Pivo
3851 Steele Street
Stolní Pivo translates to “table beer,” a term used in the beer industry for low-alcohol beers that you might drink at the table during supper. Cohesion’s version has a whole lot of character for such a low-alcohol offering (3.1 percent ABV). The most recent batch (tapping this week) was double-decoction mashed and hopped with Agnus and Saaz. The late additions of Saaz contribute light lemon to a full, balanced malt backbone.

Launch Pad Brewery: Matcha Wit
884 South Buckley Road, Aurora
Launch Pad got together with Colorado Springs brewery Red Swing to brew this beer, taking a Belgian-style witbier and adding matcha green tea and lemon peel. The beer comes in at 4 percent ABV.

Baere Brewing: Only You
320 Broadway
Baere and Station 26 brewed Only You, a 3.5 percent-ABV smoked lager that uses all wheat malt. This Grodziskie-style beer is currently available at both Baere and Station 26's taprooms.

LUKI Brewery: Under a Shady Tree
14715 West 64th Avenue, Arvada
This lemon shandy from Luki clocks in at 3.5 percent ABV. The brewery started with a light-bodied traditional American wheat recipe, fermenting with a clean ale yeast to leave a delicate mouthfeel. Then it blended in the classic drink of summer, a sweet lemonade. The result is a light but bright beer with just enough balanced herbal notes from the hops. It's perfect for hanging out under a shady tree on those hot summer days.

FlyteCo Brewing: Flyte Lyte
4499 West 38th Avenue
3120 Uinta Street
Flyte Lyte is an easy-drinking, crisp, clean lager that is only 4 percent ABV. With a whiff of malt sweetness and a balancing bitterness, this is a fantastic warm weather beer. You can enjoy it at both FlyteCo locations.
Lady Justice Brewing: A Justice League of Their Own
9735 East Colfax Avenue, Aurora
Lady J teamed up with Diebolt Brewing for this Pride month beer. Coming in at exactly 4 percent ABV, the juicy session IPA packs a variety of fruity hops, using Lotus, Belma and Sabro varieties.

Our Mutual Friend Brewing: Small Hold and One Sunday Morning
2810 Larimer Street
OMF has a pair of low-alcohol beers on tap for the summer. Small Hold is a 3.7 percent ABV Belgian-style table saison, and OMF is continuing to bring the smoke with One Sunday Morning, a 3.4 percent ABV smoked wheat beer.

Spice Trade Brewing: Fist of the Condor
8775 East Orchard Road, Greenwood Village
This 4 percent ABV grisette, a farmhouse-style ale, features yerba mate tea and white peaches. If you’re at the taproom, you can pair this beer with any number of Latin American-themed dishes, which is the current cuisine being explored by the kitchen at Spice Trade.

Resolute Brewing: Uncle Jerry’s Pub Ale
18148 West 92nd Lane, Arvada
7286 South Yosemite Street, Centennial
This Dark Mild from Resolute is only 3.5 percent ABV and features six different malts and two hop varieties. The brewery says to expect notes of freshly baked scones, warm baker's chocolate and nutty toffee brittle.

Wonderland Brewing: Homegrown Table Ale
5450 West 120th Avenue, Broomfield
Table ale is inspired by lower-ABV beers from the eighteenth century. This beer is only 3.2 percent ABV and made with fresh hops from the patio at the brewery, giving the light beer a touch of hoppiness.

Bruz Beers: Bruz Single
1675 West 67th Avenue
1495 York Street
Pale and straw-colored with a touch of haze and a big white head, this 3.8 percent ABV Belgian-style beer is a good warm weather choice. It has delicate notes of floral hops and a touch of graininess on the nose, followed by a grainy malt flavor, restrained noble hop bitterness and a long dry finish.