VB or Melbourne? Not any more. Jeff Whalley finds a beer for every occasion this summer

SMALL-scale Aussie breweries have never been stronger, offering a great variety of beers at reasonable prices. We’ve found the best ales for every occasion.

Beer and Cricket; Jay Mobbs-Beal and Nick Jones get the taste for "Stone & Wood Pacific ale" Pictures; Tony Gough

SUMMER is here and it’s that time of year when many consider it acceptable to lie in an inflatable wading pool in the back yard listening to cricket and drinking beer.

But what is the perfect beer to add the touch of dignity that situation demands?

Never fear. The Sunday Herald Sun has produced — with the help of Melbourne’s independent beer retailers, McCoppins — a guide to the essential amber ales of this summer.

There is a wide variety of ale now available, so we offer a few tips about what is best for social functions over the silly season.

Our beer guide — McCoppins beer guru Van Ziras — says local small-scale Aussie breweries have never been stronger and are producing a great variety of beers at reasonable prices.

“Australian craft breweries are world class,” the group buyer for the specialist beer and wine shop says.

“It is really exciting there are so many new breweries opening and it’s great for the punters there are so many styles coming out on tap, in bottle and in can.”

BEACH BEER

You’ve just jumped out of the surf and are exhausted from battling waves. Or maybe you’ve been sitting on the beach and are tired from holding your stomach in. Either way you need a perfect beach beer.

Mt Goat Summer ale cans ($3.90, $19.99 6 pack): This clean, dry beer is brewed by the Richmond based beer makers with a mix of Aussie and New Zealand hops and comes across with a big burst of fruitiness to keep it fresh. Also perfect to chuck in the boot if you are heading out to the summer music festival season.

Coopers Pale ale ($3.40, $16.50 6 pack): It is both crisp and bitter with a floral punch with the premium grade malted barley is grown and malted in South Australia. Also good with stir fries, salads, poultry, seafood and spicy food.

Murray’s Whale ale ($4.20, 14.99 4 pack): A refreshing wheat beer with a classic light body and refreshing citric flavour. With a high percentage of malted and unmalted wheat and aromatic late hop profile it has a unique take on a session strength ale.

CRICKET BEER

You are sitting with mates watching cricket on Boxing Day. You could be drinking for a while ... it really depends on how our bowlers go.

Stone & Wood Pacific ale ($4.00, $19.99 6 pack): The Byron Bay based brewery was inspired by its home on the edge of the Pacific to produce this cloudy, golden brew. The brewers don’t pasteurise the beer and leave the yeast at the bottom of the bottle to add that extra flavour.

Barrow Boys stormy lager ($4.20, $21.99 6 pack): Started by four blokes in Melbourne this is a beer — malt driven and chestnut coloured — inspired by the city. Tasmanian hops are used to balance out the biscuity aroma and taste. The slower brewing process creates a beer that’s crisp and sharp.

Anchor Brewing Steam Ale ($3.99, $21.99): The San Francisco based brewer has been around since 1896 and this beer uses the deep amber colour, thick, creamy head, and rich flavour from a process that involves brewing at warmer ale temperatures in shallow open-air fermenters. The “steam ale” name was given to all US east coast beers in the 19th century. In those days apparently the practice was to ferment the beer on San Francisco’s rooftops in a cool climate.

VISITING THE IN-LAWS BEER

You want a nice drop even though you are having to be on best behaviour. These will help you look like the good in-law, even if you’re not.

Feral Brewing Hop Hog ($5.50, $19.99 4 pack): Based in the Swan Valley in West Australia the boys produce this American style India Pale Ale with a “heavy dose” of American Hops to give a strong pine needle and citrus aroma.

Holgate Temptress Chocolate Porter ($5.99, $19.99 4 pack): This Woodend based brewer produces this traditional winter beer with Dutch cocoa and whole vanilla beans that is good for summer as well. The blend of seven malts produces a complex palate of alluring chocolate, coffee and caramel flavours.

La Sirene Wild Saison ($8.99 each): Based in Melbourne — the La Sirène team have winemaking and scientific backgrounds and they only produce small batches of unfiltered and unpasteurised beers. The Wild Saison is fermented with wild Brettanomyces yeast which — they say — has been characterised as a “barnyard” character.

SNOOTY DINNER PARTY

Your partner has been invited to the dinner part of the year, and you really, really don’t want to go. But no fear — here is the beer to bring along so at least you’re not pressured to drink wine.

Moon Dog Love Tap ($4.99, $17.99 4 pack): It has a pig on the label, wearing a hat, a monocle and a bow tie — this is as fancy as it gets. But seriously this Abbotsford based brewer has produced a very drinkable lager and a hoppy IPA with its Love Tap Double Lager.

Iron Fist Brewing Nelson the Impaler ($5.99, $20.99 4 pack): The Vista, California, based Iron Fist makes this single hop beer using Nelson Sauvin hops, grown exclusively in Nelson, New Zealand. Has taste of “intense grapefruit and hints of pineapple and mango” with refreshing, dry finish.

Epic Brewing Hop Zombie ($17.99 each): Based in Otahuhu, Auckland, this brewery created a bit of a flurry with this hoppy beer in 2011. It was cleared out very quickly but then couldn’t be brewed as the supply of special hops ran dry. But beer drinkers rejoice — the makers found a supply grown in Washington state, US, and stored “in a sleepy corner of the UK”.

BARBECUE WITH YOUR MATES

Finally time to relax. But, you need an “all rounder beer” — one that you can sit on all day and maybe something a tad different to enjoy and experiment with.

Temple Brewing Bicycle Beer ($3.99, $21.99 6 pack): The East Brunswick based brewer had the great idea of making a refreshing — relatively low alcohol — designed for quaffing and still being able to cycle home. It has a blend of seven hops that is both slightly spicy and citrusy but also includes the unusual inclusion of salt from an ancient lake found underneath the Grampians — adding a bit of dryness.

Hawthorn Brewing Pilsner ($4.50, $22.99 6 pack): Drawing inspiration from the famous lager regions of Europe this uses Pilsner Malt as the base and has a hint of light Crystal Malt, so it pours a crystal clear gold colour.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale ($4.50, $21.99 6 pack): This California based icon was started by home brewers in the late 1970s. This is one of their signature drinks due to its unique piney and grapefruit aromas from the use of whole-cone American hops.

BEER THAT WONT BE PILFERED AT A PARTY

we have all had that moment when the beer we brought disappears at a party. These beers are so distinctive that you will be able to quickly solve this Agatha Christie style Christmas mystery.

4 Pines Kolsch ($3.99, $19.99 6 pack): The Manly based brewers produce this kolsch with its light straw colour and aromas of lemon and lime but which produces a light malty palate.

Two Birds Golden Ale ($4.50, $22.99 6 pack): Coming out of Spotswood in Melbourne’s west this is brewed using ale, wheat and Vienna malts to provide the rich, golden colour and a light honey character.

3 Ravens 55 American Pale Ale ($4.70, $23.99): This Thornbury brewery produces an American style pale ale using five hops blending barley, corn, wheat, oats and rye. It is malty but with a clean finish.