Well summer is fully upon us and most of us spend at least some time in the sweltering heat mowing our yards. I know I have, however it has gotten a lot easier this year with the addition of my Father’s old Cub Cadet riding mower. Yes, we were mowing and caring for 2.5 acres with a weed mower and a lawn mower for the past 9 summers.
One thing that really struck my eye on this new mower was the fact that it has a cup holder! So I immediately ran out and picked up a four pack of New Belgium Ranger IPA tall boys. They fit perfectly, but the first time I tried to use it I found out there was a problem. See the cup holder is on the back fender, where all the grass clippings shoot out of the mowing deck. Good in theory, but a design flaw for sure. Of course this wouldn’t be a problem if I had the bagging attachment which my Dad used, however the top to said attachment has been forever lost in the Galligan abyss known as my Mom’s garage.
So for now I am stuck either trying to mulch the lawn or to do the side discharge, and since I am a once a week mower, the mulcher is pretty much out of the question, so no drinking and mowing for me, however I do work up a good thirst while I am out there, and like to come in for a refreshing beer once I hit a break.
That said I thought up these 3 qualities of a good lawn mower beer:
- It must be light in color. Nothing weighs you down while working like a roasty malty beer. No, for me I like a nice IPA or Pilsner, or perhaps like my brother Jim, a Summer Shandy.
- It should be in a can. Now there is wiggle room here, because there are some fine lawn mowing beers that only come in bottles, but a can has a good low center of gravity and won’t go flying out of the cup holder on those hairpin turns. If you only have bottles, slow down while turning.
- It should be below 6% ABV. I have already built in the wiggle room into the 6% so nothing over this number. When you are mowing the lawn, chances are you are doing so in the daylight hours, unless you have a lighted mower like I do and then you can night mowing, you know…in case you live in Arizona. But for most of us lawn mowing is about a 8am to 5pm activity (Except for my neighbor who feels the need to mow his yard every Saturday at F@#&#ing 7am). You might have to take a break and go pick up some groceries or a kid from soccer or something of that sort. You don’t want a beer that will make getting into a car a problem for you and the popo. Thus 6% is a max. I prefer my lawn mower beers in the 4.5%-5.5% range.
For me I like the aforementioned Ranger IPA. I also like a summer shandy, but it only comes in bottles, so it is a lesser beer in my eyes for lawn mowing. A new favorite of mine might be Payette Brewing’s Pale Ale. This is a local brewery from Boise that just released two of their beers in cans last week, the Pale and their Mutton Bustin’ Brown, both very tasty, but the Pale meets the color requirement. Finally, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale was first released in cans about 6 months ago, and meets all my requirements and is just a great all around beer.
Those are mine, what are some of your favorite lawn mower brews? Let us know in the comments.
-Don
Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
I can’t tell, as I don’t drink beer before 5 p.m., a time when my lawn mowing is usually over, crazy as it seem to mow lawns in the early afternoon in southern Texas.
Well, that’s just a silly rule. And could lead to dehydration, so you are being dangerous too! 😉
Victory Summer Love or Harpoon Summer which is a great Kolsch. Longtrail Ale is also a solid choice.
Wish I could get those out here Kenny. We got a little Victory last year for like 30 seconds, but other than that I haven’t seen hide nor hair of them in these parts. I won’t even discuss Longtrail. 😦
My lawnmower is a push mower, and isn’t self-propelled, so I don’t enjoy a comfy seat or use of only one hand when mowing. But when I break or finish, I usually grab a lighter session style beer. What I grab varies depending on what I’ve brewed recently and what I’ve stocked up on at the beverage center.
Home brew could be a great alternative to pay for beer. You could do all sorts of funky concoctions to dial in the perfect refreshing beer for yard work. You should try puttting a seat on your push mower then have your dog pull it! 😉
Homebrew is always a great alternative to paying for beer. 🙂
I partnered up with 2 friends for a brew competition. One made a rye wit that was absolutely incredible. Light, mild, zesty, and even a bit juicy. That was perfect to cool down with. Very quenching.
Well, my yard is all landscaped and I don’t have to mow. But when I am working out in the yard or building bourbon barrel stuff, my general go-to beer is a mixer of IPAs, with my favorite being Schlafly American IPA (suck it 6%) or Sierra Nevada Torpedo. Booze and power tools are a great mix.
You took the words right out of my mouth with that last sentence. For whatever reason I just don’t like Torpedo. I’ve tried it a half dozen times or so, and every time its like Meh. Wish I did like it though because I like the 16 oz cans and the price point is very good out here.
It’s a simple go-to, always quality IMO. I have all my fingers and all my toes. Using power tools, in flipflops, while drinking will eventually get me someday.
Kind of like the guys that regularly ride their motorcycles. They always say each day is one day closer to their next wreck.
Nothing beats the smell of fresh oak and bourbon shavings in between your toes.
eww, you smell your feet? 😛
MillerLite.It must be cold.
Of course it must be cold, because when it warms up it tastes like the sweat that collects in a sumo wrestler’s crotch. Try a nice IPA or a Summer Shandy. It’ll blow your mind!
Dogfish head 120 Minute IPA. This might explain why I only have four toes left…
I’d like to see Jim try to even start a lawnmower.
Now John, that is totally ridiculous. Jim has to mow his own lawn whenever the lawn company gets too backed up. 😉
If you’re drinking Ranger, than you’ve already broken your own rule #3. It’s 6.5%
I claim ingorance!
ABV barely comes into the equation for me with lawnmowing beers, as long as it’s lower than 8-8.5%, I’ll drink it; I’m living on the edge there along with John. But I agree with your color range for the most part, pale to amber being optimal.
That Lagunitas A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ I mentioned yesterday has been the go-to for me this Summer regardless of situation. But for something a little lighter, I’ll go with Avery’s Joe’s, Victory’s Prima, or Ska’s Mexican Logger. If I don’t have to be anywhere after I’m done mowing, then I’ll break out the higher ABV stuff. I’ve become addicted to Odell’s Double Pilsner and Myrcenary DPA in those situations.
Not a huge fan of the Double Pils. I think Americans have come, to some degree, to conclusion that higher ABV means better beer. hence all the DIPAs, Imperial this and Imperial that. I think that sometimes lower ABV means better flavor, and I have come to realize that flavor is what its all about, in spite of what the Hokey Pokey says.
Avery’s Karma is my idea of a good lawn-mowing beer.
Sounds nice. I like good Karma.
Let’s face it, the suburban lawn in America is a long forgotten homage, turned appendage, to our agricultural roots which we have abandoned in favor of doing jobs which are painfully boring (code for insurance industry). Yes, we control weeds, fertilize and irrigate until we are assured of producing a weekly harvest of bluegrass trimmings. The only crop regularly harvested with such a low market value that we actually pay the city to take it away. Such is the cost of playing farmer. Do you think farmers secretly dress in suits on the weekend and strut around their homes acting self important while dithering over quarterly reports? I dunno.
But with two and a half acres, I would be thinking; two row barley being processed with a thrasher in place of that Cub Cadet mulcher. What better ‘mowing beer’ than one which is the product of your mowing? Talk about the ultimate closed system with the perfect incentive.
Sounds like a good landscaping project, you should get right on that! 😉 I suppose you can say that Church fills that role on Sundays for many farmers. they get to play dress up and pretend they are important.
The Ranger is a good move (thanks for the plug!)… Shift is another I mow with regularly, low ABV, light body, etc. The push mower makes it difficult, but I persevere, it’s a small yard.
You know I don’t really think about Shift too often, because it is quite new in this market, but you are right it would be a really good choice as well.
Time to stop lurking and starting posting stuff (after 10 months of avidly albeit secretly reading this blog), and I am going to embarrass myself from the start. Rolling Rock is my go-to work beer, mostly because it feels and tastes like water. It also comes in a can, conveniently, and quenches my thirst before moving on to bigger, better beers in the AC.
Its OK Alex, this will only hurt a little. 😉 Rolling Rock was a favorite of mine long ago when I was first getting into beer around 1990. First of all it was brewed in Latobe, PA still and it wasn’t too bad. No off putting flavors, and a painted bottle was just cool. I don’t think I could bring myself to drink it anymore because it has been overtaken by AB InBev and they moved it and all the jobs out of Latrobe and put them in Newark, NJ. You get a great view of the brewery as you fly into the Newark airport. That said, I know there are better more crafty choices. Try a Longboard Lager from Kona, or a Joe’s Pilsner from Avery. Still very affordable, and you won’t get called out here any more. Thanks for coming out of the shadows Alex. Good to have you with us!
Ellicottville Mow Master! It was brewed for the distinct purpose of being a full flavored, light beer that could be drank for several hours in the hot sun while mowing the lawn.
Sounds good. Also sounds VERY local. 😉
Well; being as how I hate grass and mowing, I’ve tried to let as much of our 5 acres go to woods as I can (the wife starts to balk when I try to extend it). She does the tractoring while I do the trimming w/ a push-mower–takes the best part of a day.
Needless to say, I’m not drinking beer while I’m trim-mowing. But when I’m finished, Ranger is my 1st choice, Dales is #2, the Howl black lager works alright as well.
Perhaps if you drank while you mowed, your wife might want to mow the woods less often? 😉
Full Sail’s LTD 05 does the job for me making 2012 a fine mowing season. ~m
Haven’t tried it, but I’ll look for it, we get most Full Sail beers around these parts.
I’ll take a ‘Gansett Lager or a Saranac Summer Brew for the lawnmower, any day!
Sounds like you have your beers for East Coast mowing.
I’m an apartment dweller, but when I’m sitting on my patio laughing at my neighbour mowing his lawn I like a Parallel 49 Seedspitter Watermelon Wit or a New Belgium Shift.
Don’t get Parallel 49, but it sounds interesting. I haven’t fully sworn off watermelon wheat beers, but I am very wary of them ever since I tried Hell or High Watermelon…Yuck!
It’s a new brewery that just opened in Vancouver, BC. I’m a little bit biased (I work there) but there Seedspitter is miles better than Hell Or High Watermelon, an opinion I held long before I got my job mind you. I could barely finish that one.
Tanks for both the gentleness and helpfulness of your response! I have discovered many a favorite beer here and your responce means I need to make a trip to the beer store!
Ranger IPA is a great summer beer, but my go-to beer for the summer is usually Bell’s Oberon. It’s light, has a nice citrus and wheat flavor and is extremely refreshing and low in alcohol.
Nice if you are in the midwest. You’ll need it for those 100 degree days with 98% humidity! YUCK!
Summer Shandy is available in cans?
Not that I know of. That is why there is wiggle room in the can thing.
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Yes. Don’t know when this became true, but it is.
For Christmas, my mother in law bought me a plastic topper for cans that resembles drinking out of a bottle. It has a detachable lid. No more beerless mowing!
I’ve seen those before, but always thought I really couldn’t find a meaningful use for it. Now I do. Next time I see them I’ll pick one up.
Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy IS available in cans. I picked up two 12-packs myself this weekend. And I work for Tenth and Blake.
I love Summer Shandy and appreciate you mentioning where you work.
And I appreciate you letting our readers know that it is indeed available in cans! Can you make sure some of those cans get shipped to Idaho…specifically Boise? 😉
Don, looks like the Fred Meyer on Overland should have the cans.
Awesome. Thanks Lisa.
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bitburger tall boys. Always a refreshing choice.
First time I had a Bitburger was at Pok Pok grill in Portland, Or. Good choice.
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I like a beer actually called Lawnmower made by St. Arnold Brewery in Houston Tx. Great stuff!
Ithica Flower Power, at 7.50% it’s a little high in ABV but such a refreshing summer type of beer.
Sorry for the double post but lately the 3 Floyds Gumballhead has been my go to on hot days.
Longtrail Ale – and not just any Longtrail Ale, but from the can. The craft brew can revolution has opened up so many more options. Safety first!
Homebrew Honey Wheat, or if my stock is lacking I go with a Two Hearted Ale (A little over the 6% limit but well worth it.)