The France 44 floor staff love sampling, learning about and recommending the latest and the greatest. But what do you find in our refrigerators at home after we shed our work clothes and kick back for a cold one? Following is some insight into our personal preferences for chilly suds on a hot August day.
Bill Nosan – Beer Buyer/Manager
My upstairs beer fridge is filled with everyday drinkers. I like having a beer while I cook dinner, so I want them easy drinking. This summer’s everyday drinkers are: Surly Todd the Axeman IPA, Summit Keller Pils, Indeed Shenanigans, Odell IPA, Six Point Sweet Action, Bent Paddle Venture Pils, Toppling Pseudo Sue, Castle Danger Ode IPA and most anything sour.
The opposite of my upstairs fridge is my downstairs fridge. It’s filled with never-drinkers. This fridge is packed with beers I want, but rarely drink, especially in the summer. Most of the beers downstairs are 10% ABV or higher. Things like older vintage GI BCBS, Firestone Walker stouts and barley wines, Surly Darkness, etc. These are beers I really like drinking socially, with friends or family, not by myself.
Bennett Porter – Beer Specialist
Most days, there’s a rather hodgepodge mix of beers in my fridge, but there is some method to the madness. At heart I’m a total hophead, but I love the classic imports as well, we’re talking Belgians and Germans. On muggy days I crave something fresh and crisp, mostly pilseners. Any and all kinds of sours are great too! Despite loving the occasional rare stout, I keep a somewhat limited selection in my cellar.
So what’s in the fridge right now? Bent Paddle Lollygagger and Lagunitas 12th of Never Pale Ale to satisfy those Hoppy moments. Delirium Tremens tallboys and McChouffe for some Belgian-y flare. Victory’s Prima Pils, Pilsner Urquell and (gasp) Leinenkugel’s Original bring up the lighter side of things. Though it’s not in my fridge at the moment, I like to call Saison Dupont my desert island beer, it’s the beer I’d drink if I could only choose one! Cheers!
Zack Potts – Beer Specialist
Although it is only the middle of August I broke down and brought Summit Oktoberfest back into the rotation at home. It has a strong malt backbone, a tad bit of sweetness, but still plenty crisp to enjoy around a late summer bonfire. Because it STILL is August, I am continuing to restock my fridge with Castle Danger Summer Crush. Why you ask? It is in the name and Summer Crush is just that, crush-able. The light and lemony hop profile is just enough for you to notice, but never enough for you to get tired of drinking. A newcomer in my fridge is a newcomer into the state, and that beer is 10 Barrel Brewing’s Joe IPA. I was pleasantly surprised by the bowl of fruit aroma that I discovered after cracking open a bottle. The flavor profile follows suit and I bet you would be hard pressed to find a hop head that didn’t enjoy this IPA.
Dustin Harkins – Wine Manager
As the Wine Manager, we all know grapes are near and dear to my heart, but I also can’t say no to the sudsy goodness of a cold brew. I have a lot of dark beer in my cellar at the moment that will be consumed over the holidays (bourbon barrel everything!) and only a few key selections in my fridge. My go to brewski at the moment is Pseudo Sue Pale Ale from Toppling Goliath. It has a great balance of citrusy hop flavor that pairs well with the crazy hot weather. My other go to is the Odell IPA, super classic India Pale that isn’t too over the top. This is making me thirsty!
Karina Roe – Wine Specialist
I love a crisp, clean session ale when I get off work, and Odell’s Loose Leaf is usually my go-to. I’m also a huge fan of Goses; Evil Twin’s Geyser Gose is funky, yet still way too drinkable. If I run out of beer (gasp), my fridge is always stocked with a bottle or two of my favorite “beer wines” (wines for drinking, not for thinking), which include Avinyo Petillant and Fritz Muller Rose!
Adam Krueger – Wine Specialist
I’m a seasonal beer drinker. In the spring and summer I gravitate towards lighter, hoppier, fruitier beer. In the fall I begin to move towards heavier stouts and porters. But enough about me, you want to know what’s in my fridge! (Drumroll)
Steel Toe Size 7 cans
Indeed LSD (Lavender-Sunflower Honey-Date Ale)
Lagunitas Sucks
Surly Overrated IPA
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale – the Classic
Lindeman’s Framboise
Wyder’s Reposado-Barrel Aged Pear Cider
Tom Schneider – Liquor Buyer
What’s in my fridge? I’ll tell you. Passion Fruit Kicker from Green Flash because passion fruit and wheat beer were meant for each other. There’s a six pack of Steel Toe Size 7 cans in the fridge to support the local shawties, of course, as well as a twelve pack of Farm Girl Saison, my girlfriend’s favorite beer. There’s also a six pack of Sierra Nevada Torpedo to remind me of my first hop-bomb love from my college days. The door of my fridge is a different story, there’s a rotating cast of vermouths and aperitifs, right now there are bottles of Cocchi Americano, Saler’s Aperitif (both for my summer white negronis) as well as a small bottle of Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth, because it’s my favorite thing in the whole store.
Corey Ryan – Internet Sales & Shipping
My fridge is stocked with easy hot-weather drinkers like Budweiser, Keystone Light, Sociable Freewheeler, Loon Juice, and a couple kegs of Bauhaus Stargrazer and Coors Light—you need to be prepared for those spontaneous get-togethers that always seem to happen during the summer. Currently there’s also Bell’s Oracle Double IPA. The “good stuff” includes past vintages of Surly Darkness, Bourbon County, Indeed Rum King, Founders KBS, and Deschutes Abyss.
