Mow the lawn, sweep the patio, hose off the outdoor furniture – the 4th of July is coming! It’s a time for family gatherings, BBQs, fireworks, and of course, all things red, white, and blue, as Party City can prove.
While I’m not super into decking out my house (or body) in red, white, and blue everything, I do enjoy hanging out with my family around a grill. I’m lucky enough to live in a house with a really sweet backyard and patio, so we take advantage of it as much as we can.
Here’s what I buy for backyard gatherings:
- Live Oak beer
- HEB queso
- Siete tortilla chips
- Sweet potato fries
- Burger things
Brian’s burgers are my favorite food. I’m always asking him to make them for me! On the 4th, I know we’ll be back around the Weber, grilling up some amazing meals.
No backyard gathering is complete without Live Oak beer. I’ve always been a HefeWeizen fan. When I lived back east, I drank UFO HefeWeizen, when I lived on the west coast, I went with the traditional Blue Moon. Now, in Texas, I’m obsessed with Live Oak and am happy to partner with them on this blog post.
Live Oak’s HefeWeizen, modeled after the classic wheat beers of Bavaria, is brewed with equal parts wheat and barley malts and few hops. It features a unique yeast strain that produces notes of clove, banana, and vanilla. Their HefeWeizen is 5.3% ABV. I love that wheaty, smooth taste. I could drink these all day (and do, when given the chance).
Live Oak has two more beers that are perfectly crafted for summer. One is their Live Oak Gold. It’s a North German-style pilsner. It’s dryer and crisper with floral hops. The clean fermenting German lager yeast allows the hops to shine through the subtle, dry malt profile. As with all their lagers, Live Oak uses the traditional ingredients of time and temperature. Cold fermentation and lagering produces a beer that is brilliant and beautiful. Live Oak Gold is 4.8% ABV.
Finally, there’s Grodziskie. This is SUCH an interesting beer. If you haven’t tried it yet, I highly recommend it. It resurrects the last indigenous Polish beer style to go extinct in the twentieth century. It is brewed using only oak-smoked wheat malt and is hopped like a pilsner. The beer actually has a smoky taste to it – it’s so unique! While it’s only at 3.0% ABV, the wheat malt delivers a full-bodied beer. It’s a truly rare beer and I’m so happy to have discovered it! It’ll pair perfectly with your smokey, BBQ-filled backyard.
As you can see all of Live Oak’s beers have a relatively low ABV. They’re meant to be enjoyed, really tasted, not chugged to get drunk. They’re perfect for all your outdoor summer activities – cool and refreshing, but not overly potent. After dinner, I plan on lingering on the patio, next to our fire pit, popping some fireworks, and having a little nightcap with whatever Live Oak is left. Have a happy and safe 4th, everyone!
Thank you, Live Oak Brewing, for partnering with me on this blog post and providing me with a sampling of your summertime beers.
