A lawnmower beer is exactly what it sounds like. A beer that you crush after (or during!) an afternoon of mowing an expansive lawn. But even if live in an apartment, townhome, condo, or someone else mows your lawn, you can still enjoy one of these thirst-quenching, highly refreshing, and crushable beers all season long.
In truth, the term “lawnmower beer” probably means something different to everyone. Craft beer fans might go for a double dry-hopped IPA or craft wheat beer. Classic beer fans might opt for an authentic, cheap, no-frills adjunct lager like Budweiser or Miller High Life (there’s nothing wrong with that). We prefer to go right down the middle and drink craft pilsners, lagers, and other lighter, refreshing styles.
Since the craft beer world is so massive and diverse, you don’t have to settle for mass-produced lagers from giant conglomerates (unless you want to!) when looking for a nice session brew. There are endless pilsners, lagers, pale ales, wheat beers, and Kölsch- style beers perfectly suited for this job.
Check out our eight favorite lawnmower beers below and click on the price if you want to give one a shot yourself.
Revolution Rev Pils
ABV: 5.5%
Average Price: $10 (six-pack)
The Beer:
If you visit any dive bar in Chicago (or pretty much any bar) you’re going to find the classic, cheap, refreshing beer called Old Style. Revolution knows all about this Windy City staple and set out to create its own version of the iconic “Chicago Pilsner.” They did this by launching Rev Pils, a crisp, thirst-quenching pilsner that’s brewed with Noble hops and all German-sourced ingredients for an authentic flavor profile.
Tasting Notes:
Take a moment to breathe in the aromas of lemon zest, biscuit-like malts, fresh-cut grass, and floral hops. Sipping this beer will make you revel in the notes of lime, lemons, freshly baked bread, caramel malts, and gentle, lingering subtly bitter hops at the very end. It will take you a few cans before you discover all the various flavors.
Bottom Line:
Rev Pils is loaded with citrus and malt flavor, making it very bold yet crushable.
Saint Arnold Fancy Lawnmower
ABV: 4.9%
Average Price: $10 (six-pack)
The Beer:
You can’t make a list of lawnmower beers without including a beer that was created to be enjoyed after mowing your lawn on a hot, humid day. This German-style Kölsch is brewed with a whole slew of German-grown Hallertau hops as well as a proprietary Kölsch yeast. The result is a crisp, citrus, and floral flavored hop that is sure to refresh you on a hot, summery day.
Tasting Notes:
Fans of authentic Kölsch beers (as well as German-style Kölsch beers made in America) will enjoy the aromas of lemon peel, orange zest, and slight bready malts on the nose. When you sip it, you’ll be greeted with floral hops, sweet tangerine, lemon zest, and a nice caramel-like malty backbone. It all ends with a slight bitterness that brings everything together.
Bottom Line:
With a name like Fancy Lawnmower, this is definitely the kind of beer you’ll want to crush after a day in the sun.
Threes Brewing Vliet
ABV: 5.2%
Average Price: $19 (four-pack, 16-oz. cans)
The Beer:
Threes Brewing Vliet is one of the best-rated (and beloved) pilsners in the country for a reason. Brewed with German Pilsner malt as well as Saaz and Spalter Select hops, it’s well-known for its herbal, sweet, fresh flavor. At 5.2 percent, it’s highly drinkable and thirst-quenching on a sunny, hazy day.
Tasting Notes:
This slight hazy beer begins with aromas of fresh-baked bread, biscuit-like malts, subtle spice, and a healthy dose of floral hops. The palate is swirling with caramel malts, fresh-cut grass, citrus zest, and more floral, subtly piney hops. The finish is sweet, dry, and extremely refreshing.
Bottom Line:
This is an extremely well-balanced beer. Its citrus and floral hops flavors are complimented by bready malts. It’s fresh, clean, and one of our favorite lawnmower beers of all time.
Creature Comforts Bibo
ABV: 4.9%
Average Price: $11 (six-pack)
The Beer:
Athens, Georgia’s Creature Comforts has a bunch of beers that could be fit into this box. Its Classic City Lager and Tritonia (Gose) are crisp, refreshing, and delightful. But when we want a crushable beer for a sweaty afternoon, we grab a Bibo. This pilsner is sessionable at 4.9 percent, available year-round and dry, sweet, and perfectly balanced between hops and malts.
Tasting Notes:
The first thing you’ll notice before sipping are the various aromas of this beer. There’s freshly baked bread, wet grass, hay, caramel malts, and subtle resin. The flavor is crisp, subtly sweet, and filled with biscuity malts, floral hops, subtle spices, and very little bitterness at the finish. All in all, a very drinkable, memorable beer.
Bottom Line:
If you’re looking for a low-alcohol and crispy beer, Creature Comforts Bibo ticks all of those boxes. It’s simple, elegant, and refreshing.
Montucky Cold Snacks
ABV: 4.1%
Average Price: $8 (six-pack)
The Beer:
With a name like Montucky Cold Snacks, you kind of know what you’re getting into with this beer. This crisp, refreshing, highly sessionable lager gets its name, Montucky, for a nickname for the state of Montana. The “cold snacks” portion of the name is exactly as it seems. It’s simply a classic lager that you can drink all day long (if that’s your kind of thing).
Tasting Notes:
For a beer that touts itself as a simple lager, there’s a surprising number of aromas on the nose. Wet grass, fresh-baked bread, caramel malts, and slight citrus are all present. Tasting this beer brings you more bready malts, sour apples, light citrus, and just a hint of caramel. The finish is slightly hoppy with very little bitterness.
Bottom Line:
This beer was designed to be crushed on the slopes or backcountry of Montana (or anywhere else) and it definitely serves its purpose.
Sixpoint The Crisp
ABV: 5.4%
Average Price: $11 (four-pack)
The Beer:
Another aptly named beer, The Crisp is exactly as the name suggests. It’s a crisp, refreshing, zesty beer well-suited for summer drinking. Brewed with a combination of German-sourced Hallertau and Tettnang hops as well as Cargill Pilsner malt, this beer is a hoppy, fresh beer well-suited for summer afternoons.
Tasting Notes:
The nose makes you think that this is an IPA as opposed to a pilsner. It’s filled with the scents of resinous pine, slight tropical fruits, citrus zest, and a nice malty backbone. The flavor is just as hoppy as the aroma with notes of ripe berries, lemon peels, cracker-like malts, and wet grass. It all ends with a nice combination of slightly bitter hops and fresh fruit.
Bottom Line:
IPA fans looking to get into pilsners this summer should use this beer as a bridge. Hoppier than most pilsners on the market, it’s clean, fresh, and bright with floral, piney flavor.
Victory Prima Pils
ABV: 5.3%
Average Price: $11 (six-pack)
The Beer:
Victory Prima Pils is a perennial summer favorite for a multitude of reasons. It’s bright, fresh, and filled with myriad floral hops like Tettnang, Hallertau, Spalt, and Saaz. On top of that, it’s brewed with German malts to complete the classic, old-world flavor pilsner fans have grown to expect.
Tasting Notes:
A lot is going on with this pilsner’s nose. There are distinct aromas of ripe grapefruit, wet grass, resin, and caramel malts. The palate is swirling with dank, resinous pine, freshly baked bread, sweet malts, and slight, bitter, citrusy hops at the very end.
Bottom Line:
This beer is a great example of a summery beer with a perfect hop to malts ratio. Sometimes pilsners can lean a little far in the malt department. Floral, dank hops temper it well.
Narragansett Fresh Catch
ABV: 4.2%
Average Price: $11 (six-pack)
The Beer:
If you’re looking for a crisp, easy-to-drink lawnmower beer, there’s a good chance you might at least look at Narragansett and its iconic lager. But we believe that a better choice is the brewery’s Fresh Catch, a golden ale that’s dry-hopped with Citra hops.
Tasting Notes:
Immerse yourself in the scents of citrus peels, lime zest, resinous pine, and a nice hit of caramel malts. The flavor is chocked full of citrus flavors as well as dank, piney hops, bread-like malts, and a nice, subtle, bitter finish that appeals to IPA fans.
Bottom Line:
This beer is only 4.2 percent ABV but is bursting with so much citrusy, hoppy flavor, you might assume it’s much more potent. It’s super sessionable and refreshing after an afternoon mowing the lawn.
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