5 Beers to Enjoy on National Watermelon Day

Fruit beers are all the rage these days. From IPAs with blood orange and grapefruit to red wine barrel-aged Brett Saisons with passion fruit and lychee, craft beer fans can't seem to escape fruited varietals. A popular and recent addition to the fruit beer oeuvre is the use of watermelon in beers, and with today being National Watermelon Day, we've cultivated 5 gourd-geous watermelon brews to wet your whistle.

Briney Melon Gose
Anderson Valley Brewing Co.

Watermelon and the Gose style seem to be a perfect fit. The tart, puckering sensation that the Gose style provides lends itself to the juicy, omnipresent sweetness of a watermelon. This example from Anderson Valley, while certainly packing a sweet punch, leans more towards the rind-y aspect of watermelon, creating a fresh, "green" sensation that's sure to perk up drinkers for any occasion.

Watermelon Dorado
Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits

Ballast Point has recently been in the news after many high-level employees stepped down. Despite this turn of events, the San Diego brewery continues to churn out extremely popular fruited varietals of its flagship Sculpin IPA, as well as this outrageously juicy Double IPA. Some might scoff at the Jolly Rancher-like sweetness this brew puts forth (especially for a Double IPA), but it's tempered by equally lush hop characteristics and a rind-y finish accentuated by the brewers' inclusion of cucumber during brewing.

Hell or High Watermelon
21st Amendment Brewery

This OG watermelon beer debuted long before the current trend of watermelon beers had even begun gestating. An easy-drinking, no-frills Fruit Beer, 21st Amendment's take on the watermelon style was popular upon its release, and remains a summer favorite for discerning watermelon fans to this day.

Watermelon Gose
Terrapin Beer Co.

Just released a few months ago, this simply named Gose features all the sweet, juicy fruitiness you would expect from a watermelon beer, plus the trademark Gose saltiness from the inclusion of coriander and sea salt. A sweet and salty brew coupled with a low ABV make this a highly crushable summertime treat.

Watermelon Laimas
FATE Brewing Company

The first Kolsch on our list, FATE Brewing's Watermelon Laimas is a fruited version of its popular year-round beer Laimas. The watermelon is quite subtle in this easy-drinking brew, with a wheaty, grainy character leaping to the forefront. As the beer warms up, the watermelon character increases, creating an impressive level of complexity that keeps drinkers interested throughout the entire sampling of this tallboy can.

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