When temps hit the triple digits and venturing outdoors feels like an extraterrestrial traverse across Venus, there’s nothing quite like cracking open a cold one. But with tens of thousands of unique brews, choosing the perfect summer beer isn’t easy. That’s why we’ve done the heavy lifting — or, in this case, heavy drinking — for you.
In just one night, we tested 24 of Trader Joe’s most promising summer beers, rating them for their sessionability, refreshment, and flavor to bring you the supermarket chain’s top 10 heat-wave-ready brews. Beer heads beware: These aren’t the best beers; they’re Trader Joe’s best easy-drinking brews that we could knock back all day.
Our (Nerdy) Scoring Criteria
After browsing Trader Joe’s inventory and settling on 24 top contenders, we rated each beer based on three criteria: sessionability, refreshment, and flavor.
Rather than simply averaging the three scores, we attributed greater weight to the beer’s flavor, while the beer’s sessionability and refreshment numbers were weighted identically. That’s how Stone Brewing’s IPA — which wasn’t very sessionable or refreshing — still managed to score high on our list. On the other hand, beers that aren’t flavorful (Corona, for example) still made the list because of their high sessionability and refreshment scores.
Check out the chart below to get the basics on all 10 beers and jump to each one for more details. (Note: Ratings are based on a maximum score of 5.)
Trader Joe’s Beers at a Glance
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| Fort Point KSA |
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| 805 |
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| Oranjeboom |
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| Blue Moon Belgian White |
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| Farmer’s Light |
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| Peter’s Brand Classics |
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| Corona Extra |
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| Enjoy By: Tangerine & Pineapple IPA |
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| Modelo Especial |
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| Hell or High Watermelon |
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Fort Point KSA
IBU: 9
Sessionability: 4/5
Refreshment: 4/5
Flavor: 3/5
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
Mass-produced, ubiquitous, and owned by MillerCoors, this Belgian-style white beer is surprisingly tasty. It starts smooth before you get a few hints of orange, spice, and wheat, though the citrus notes taste a bit artificial.
Farmer’s Light
IBU: 18
Sessionability: 5/5
Refreshment: 5/5
Flavor: 2/5
Overall Rating: 3.6/5
Corona’s greatest strength is also its greatest weakness: It doesn’t taste like anything. But don’t be intimidated by self-important beer snobs. If you shove a slice of lime in the neck, this has most of the attributes of a good summer beer.
Enjoy By: Tangerine & Pineapple IPA
IBU: 90
Sessionability: 2/5
Refreshment: 3/5
Flavor: 5/5
Overall Rating: 3.6/5
Strong, bitter, and extremely alcoholic, it’s a wonder that this double IPA made the list at all. But it makes up for all that with its juicy tropical flavors and dank hoppiness, which manage to be refreshing despite the beer’s high IBU score. Unfortunately, this beer is a limited-release seasonal beer, though we can imagine Stone Brewing’s other brews, like its Tangerine Express, make great summer IPAs, too.
Modelo Especial
IBU: 17
Sessionability: 5/5
Refreshment: 5/5
Flavor: 3/5
Overall Rating: 4.1/5
When its gilded foil neck catches the light, it’s hard to resist opening one of these, especially on a sweltering summer day. But Modelo Especial isn’t just pretty to look at. It’s the quintessential sessionable beer thanks to its low ABV and clean, crisp flavor that has mass appeal. Unlike Corona Extra, it’s got an almost creamy body that would pair nicely with spicy food.
Hell or High Watermelon
IBU: 17
Sessionability: 5/5
Refreshment: 5/5
Flavor: 4/5
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Crisp, dry, and brewed with 100% watermelon puree, 21st Amendment Brewery has concocted an ideal summer beer, which manages to be refreshing and fruity without overwhelming the beverage’s slightly sweet wheatiness. As the brewery’s website promises, it is “summer in a can.” Fittingly, this seasonal brew is only available between April through September, so get your hands on a six-pack, put on some sunnies, and crack a cold one of these with your best buds this summer.
