Best Everyday Beers for Your Couch and Porch
Five Everyday Beers
While there’s a very special pleasure to be taken in heading out to a brewery taproom, perusing the menu with care, chewing it over with the bartender and diligently selecting your beverage once armed with a detailed breakdown of ingredients and tasting notes, sometimes you just want to open the fridge, grab a cold one and kick back at the end of a long day. Having some beers on hand is just a very good idea. Of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t be fussy about which cold one you’re quenching the day away with. Buying local has many advantages and supporting your neighbors while getting your mitts on ultra-fresh brews is hard to top. However, as nationwide distribution continues to improve for many popular big-name breweries, it’s no longer necessary to seek out a dedicated beer store or head out to your nearest taproom to stock up on supplies – a trip to the grocery store is more than likely to suffice for picking up the kind of beers you want a 12-pack of.
As craft beer has migrated from niche hobby to mainstream drinking culture, most beer drinkers know what they like and pay at least some mind as to what goes into their shopping trolley, but you don’t need to be a beer nerd to appreciate the finer points of these five everyday beers. Their success lies in their simplicity, their quality and consistency offering an easy win where you’re drinking something so good you forget to think about why it’s so good.
These are the beers to fill your fridge but also to stack your car with for a weekend away, grab at an airport bar or take to your friend’s barbecue. Future you will thank contemporary you for ensuring you have a steady supply of reliable crushers on hand for that much needed sit-down or to offer those unexpected guests you’re ad hoc entertaining, so pop out to the store and stock up on a few of these go-to brews.
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
You don’t need to know the history of this iconic beer, newly inaugurated into the opening class of the Craft Beer Hall of Fame, to appreciate how brilliant it is. If you do choose to think about it for a moment, it’s pretty mindblowing that the 45 year old beer which arguably launched the American craft beer movement remains one of the best, tastiest and highest quality craft beers on the market. And you can buy it absolutely everywhere. Built on what was a groundbreaking foundation of whole-cone Cascade hops, which give SNPA its signature pine-needle-citrus-peel aroma and flavor, this is a beer that hasn’t just stood the test of time – it’s forged through time leaving an endless fanning trail of imitators in its wake. But why settle for a copy when you can have the OG, its bottle fermentation and Sierra Nevada’s rigorous production standards making it taste as fresh as a beer brewed down the road. Hoppy enough to tickle the palate of IBU lovers but smooth and light enough to please those with lighter taste, it’s rare to see any beer drinker turn a SNPA down.
Holistically, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale can be seen as a beer for making memories. Most brewers and beer nerds will remember their first SNPA – for some, it will have been the trigger that made them want to brew. But you don’t have to believe the hype to get in on the joy. Bring a case to a family gathering, open one up round the campfire as stories start to be told, order one on a first date – and while the thing you remember most about the occasion might not be the beer, you’ll still get a little tingle of warmth every time you drink it again.
Shiner Bock
All hail the taste of Texas! You could be anywhere in the world, crack open a Shiner Bock and slug down the flavor of a Lone Star honky-tonk – or at least squint and imagine you’re in one. The flagship beer of Texas’ oldest continuously operational brewery, Shiner Bock is, slightly confusingly, not an actual true-to-style Bock but a German-American hybrid more akin to an Amber Lager. Shiner Bock is so popular that it makes up over 70% of the brewery’s output, and it's won more awards than you can shake a stick at. Proud patriots, Shiner distribute their Bock to every US military outpost in the world as well as all 50 states and multiple foreign countries. The recipe for Shiner Bock is a closely guarded secret – you won’t find any knock-offs or online homebrew recipes for this golden nugget of beery joy – but German noble hops and roasted malted barley are certainly present, most likely bolstered by sweeter caramel or Vienna malts. Shiner’s moreish flavor is a careful balancing act - the firm but light malt profile plays against the spicy, bitter Noble hops, with high carbonation and attenuation pulling the whole thing together beautifully.
A lager fit for any weather or occasion, you can dress Shiner Bock up or down like jeans with a pearl snap shirt or work boots. Whether you’re alone on a bar stool drowning your heartbroken sorrows or kicking up your heels dancing the night away it won’t be Shiner Bock’s first rodeo so you don’t need to think about it, just to drink it. Don’t forget your koozie.
Allagash White
Invite your fussiest beerfriends round and bring out the Allagash White – you won’t hear any complaints. Offer some to your parents and, assuming they are beer drinkers – you won’t hear any complaints either. In fact, trying it out on non-beer-drinkers can often yield fun positive results too – this is the most awarded wheat beer in the world for a reason. Even Witbier refuseniks have been known to be swayed by the power of Allagash White – the legendary Portland, Maine brew that makes up 80% of Allagash’s output.
Allagash founder Rob Tod’s proprietary blend of coriander, Curaçao orange peel and a secret spice he’s never revealed in the beer’s 30-year history come together in a way that celebrates the traditional Belgian Witbier while giving it a certain American je neu sais quoi. Allagash White has an indelible sweet, soft succulence where the creamy wheat – over a third of which is local, sustainably sourced Maine raw white wheat - meets the bright citrus to form a perfect union. What was once a beery white whale (pun intended) is now easily available in 20+ states, so if you fall into that lucky segment you’ve no excuse not to have a supply on hand. This is a beer to enjoy as fresh as possible, but that shouldn’t be a concern as it’s too tasty to be left sitting around for long.
Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
IPA’s contemporary ubiquity means there are many solid options out there to stack your fridge with, but for approachable quality Dogfish Head’s 60 Minute IPA can’t be beaten. Now that old-school palate-crushing bitterness burn and high-octane tropical juice-bombs are (not incorrectly) considered equally passe, a beer like the 60 Minute finds the sweet spot where the hops can shine while offering a smooth, easy-drinking experience that’s focused on flavor rather than sensation. Dogfish Head’s proprietorial continual hopping brewing technique adds the hops slowly to the mash over a 60 minute period, with over 60 hop additions in total, creating a balanced, integrated hop presence. Using Northwestern hops including Warrior, Simcoe and Amarillo for a firm piney, grassy citrus-forward aroma and flavor, the 60 Minute holds an easy-drinking line while still expressing personality. Being medium-bodied, medium-ABV and medium -IBU doesn’t make this beer middle of the road – instead, like baby bear’s porridge, it’s just right.
Dogfish Head’s original home of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, may have inspired the desire for an IPA to sunbathe with but its charm extends to all occasions and, happily, most locations. If you like your hop kicks a little stronger, the 90 Minute and 120 Minute are both excellent ramped-up options, if not quite as easily available.
Modelo Especial
How can the bestselling beer in America not be an ultimate everyday beer?! Actually, it could well have not been, but since Modelo knocked tinny, watery Bud Lite off the top spot back in 2023 it’s fair to say that the American public are getting this one right. Let’s not forget that the Mexican Lager has a long, rich history. The Modelo brand is 100 years old, and their beers are all made with their original proprietory house yeast. Modelo’s focus on pure ingredients, including non-GMO corn adds to the beer’s bright, crushable flavor – a subtle corn sweetness with just a tiny hint of hop bitterness and high-level carbonation that demands it be served thoroughly chilled. There is no wrong time for a Modelo, it goes with all types of food, and if you’re a beer-cocktail person it’s a quick fix to gussie it up into a mean Michelada or simple Spaghett. If the thought of grabbing a cold Modelo, condensation clustering round your fingertipss as you swipe the cap off and take a deep, satisfying slug doesn’t make you thirsty, are you sure you like beer? Cheers to a full fridge, and happy drinking!