An Expert's Pick For The Refreshing Beer Cocktail To Try This Summer

There is little more refreshing on a hot summer day than popping the top off of an ice-cold beer and taking a long slug. Though there isn't a whole lot of complexity to those crisp lagers that hit the spot, and they can get a little boring as the season drags on. Fortunately, the creativity of folks mixing beer with other drinks has never been higher, and the world of beer cocktails is on the rise. For a bit of advice on the most refreshing beer cocktail for this coming summer, we reached out to Nick Meyer, owner of Eckhart Beer Co. in Brooklyn, New York.

"We have been serving a version of the Spaghett' since we opened the taproom," he said. For those that aren't familiar with this three-ingredient beer cocktail, the original recipe is a simple combination of Miller High Life, Aperol, and lemon juice. Essentially, it is an Aperol spritz in which the traditional prosecco is swapped out for the "champagne of beers." "It's got a nice balance of crispness from the beer," Meyer says, "along with the citrusy character and a bit of sweetness from the Aperol, and it's super-refreshing."

This beer cocktail got its start back in 2016 at the Wet City Brewery in Baltimore, Maryland, and has since become something of a phenomenon. The simple recipe for this beer-and-a-shot drink is likely a significant factor, as all you have to do to make one at home is open the beer, add an ounce of Aperol into the bottle, and squeeze in a lemon wedge.

Over at Eckhart Beer Co, they don't do things quite the traditional way, as you might expect. With all their own beers on tap, there's no need to pop open a High Life, and the different styles add some interesting flair to this unexpectedly delicious combination. "The original recipe is Miller High Life mixed with Aperol and lemon juice," Meyer says, "but we have been making it with our grapefruit radler, and it also works very well with our helles." It's not hard to see how a crisp, balanced helles would easily sub in for a High Life, but the radler is an interesting twist, increasing the complexity with a bit of grapefruit.

For those that want to try their own experiments, swapping in another beer is a simple way to mix things up. Kolsch is an underrated light-lager-like beer with some interesting notes that could turn things up a notch. Or, for those that really want to delve into new territory, some suggest swapping the High Life for a Belgian-style witbier, with its hazy layers of citrus, spice, and fruity esters. Some folks do prefer to skip the lemon and switch out the Aperol for the more bitter Italian aperitif liqueur, Campari, turning this drink into a two-ingredient cocktail. Paired with a sweeter beer that has its own inherent citrus character — like a witbier or weissbier — this could be a slightly more elegant version of a drink that is often referred to as a "dive bar spritz."