By Joe Sixpack
Posted on Fri, Jun. 20, 2003 on Philadelphia Daily News

OK, I'M officially calling an end to winter - and good thing, too, because tomorrow is the first day of summer. If you haven't finished off those imperial stouts, barleywines and Christmas ales you collected all winter, put them away till next year (they'll survive if you keep 'em outta the heat) and break out something light.

Most of the locals produce lighter ales and lagers that are perfect for a summer behind the lawn mower or on the softball field. Stoudt's Pils, Yards Saison, Flying Fish Farmhouse Summer Ale, Victory Whirlwind Wit and Weyerbacher Blanche all come to mind.

Spending a few rainy Saturdays at local beer stores, here's a six-pack of out-of-town summer brews that have turned up on local shelves.

1. Bell's Oberon Ale - The Kalamazoo label says it's the color and scent of a summer afternoon, but I think you could drink this for breakfast. I'm thinking Minute Maid orange juice.
2. Flying Dog In-Heat Wheat - A nice, crisp aromatic German hefeweizen meets a dude from Aspen with an extra bucketload of hops.
3. Troegs Sunshine Pils - Spicy, refreshing pilsener made by the brothers from Harrisburg. Drink this ice-cold.
4. Lost Coast Great White - Ugh. Maybe I got a bad bottle from California, or maybe it got too warm, but I detected notes of Fresca. Give this to your sister.
5. Spaten Franziskaner Hefe-Weissbier - After guzzling this by the half-liter at Ludwig's Garten (1315 Sansom St., Center City), you'll go looking for a case to take home for your deck. This is what Bavarian wheat beer is all about.
6. Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel - Another German, for those who can't give up their dark beer jones.

Extreme beer

Not sure who coined the term, but with the continuing high-alcohol battles between Delaware's Dogfish Head and Boston Brewing, it's almost an understatement.

Sam Adams holds the current record for extreme beers with its $100-a-bottle Utopias, which rattle the cage at 25 percent alcohol. Dogfish Head's World Wide Stout is just a lick behind, at 23 percent.

The latest batch from Dogfish Head, 120 Minute IPA, is said to be over 21 percent.

But alcohol is only one way to judge a beer's extremes. Lately, a raft of specialties from overseas with a variety of exotic tastes has been sneaking onto area shelves.

"Some of the bottles - especially the vintage brands - can match any complex wine for flavor," said Matthias Neidhart, president of specialty importer B. United International.

And, yes, he notes, some are quite expensive. But compare $5-to-$10 a bottle to a quality wine and, Neidhardt said, "It's not even close."

Because many of these beers are imported from Europe, Lanny Hoff of Artisanal Imports says Philadelphia is getting the best of this new wave of specialties.

"In Seattle, California and Oregon, they're very self-centered on West Coast beers. But that doesn't breed the voracious appetite for diversity that we have in the east," Hoff said. "The East Coast is where it's at in the beer universe. If I'm a beer geek, I'd move to the East Coast somewhere between Boston and Philadelphia."

It takes some looking, but here's a six-pack of extreme imports:

1. Melbourn Bros. Cherry - a spontaneously fermented ale (like a fruit-flavored lambic) from England.
2. St. Bernardus Grottenbier Bruin - Cave-aged by brewing legend Pierre Celis, it's rich and malty. I get the taste of spice wafers, like the ones you munch on at Halloween.
3. Unibroue Ephemere - A fruit-flavored Canadian blanche, with apples and spices.
4. Leipziger Gose - A complex German brew, dating to the 18th century, made with coriander and salt, and soured with lactic acid bacteria. (Coming later this summer.)
5. Le Baladin Nora - A full-bodied Italian-made brew from an Egyptian recipe, with kamut grain, ginger, myrrh and orange peel.
6. Fantome Pissenlit - A Belgian ale flavored with dandelions.

Beer radar

The opposite of "extreme" is Weyerbacher's latest from Easton, Pa. It's Mild Ale, with 3.8 percent alcohol - you could drink it now till Labor Day without getting bloated...Good news for Montco: Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant will open a fifth location on Bethlehem Pike in North Wales...

Rogue Ales is teaming up with "Iron Chef" Masahura Morimoto for two new "signature" ales. Touted as an effort to "change the way gourmet chefs and 'foodies' " think about beer, they're basically an upscale repackaging of the Oregon brewery's hazelnut and buckwheat brews. Look for Morimoto Soba Ale and Morimoto HazelNut Ale in 22-ounce bottles...

Otter Creek Brewing is giving away three vacations (one of 'em is tix to the Vermont Brewers Fest) this summer within stumbling distance of the Vermont brewery. Enter at http://www.ottercreekbrewing.com/

...The minor league San Jose Giants are drawing fans with their latest promotion, the Beer Batter. If the selected player strikes out, fans get half-price beer for the next 15 minutes. Note to Phillies: Turn those boos into cheers. Make Pat Burrell the Vet's Designated Beer Batter.

Joe Sixpack, by Staff Writer Don Russell, was written this week with a bottle of Victory V-12. He appears every other week in Big Fat Friday. Contact him at the Daily News, Box 7788, Philadelphia, Pa. 19101, or via e-mail: joesixpack@phillynews.com.