Get Ready for the Summer of Watermelon and Beer. Together. In a Can.

Gloomy Seattle has me longing for summer, sitting on a porch or patio, and knocking back a cold beer. I have to admit I kinda laughed/cringed when I first saw this watermelon wheat beer from San Fransisco's 21st Amendment Brewery. Not only for the loud, obnoxious packaging, and punny name, but watermelon? In beer? Seriously? I've had loads of beers with fruit flavor and a plethora of exotic ingredients but I definitely never envisioned watermelon in my beer.

Well, I'm here to say I love it. This is by no means a sweet beer, but you definitely get lots of watermelon flavor, which really works well with a wheat beer. It's low in alcohol (under 5%), so it's not going to put you in a stupor after a couple, like all those high-octane, barrel-aged, mega-hopped extreme beers that are the vogue. Notably, the Hell or High Watermelon (groan) is but one of a growing number of high quality, craft beers coming out in cans. 21st Amendment, like craft beer canning pioneer Oskar Blues, doesn't do bottles. Just cans and kegs. And for the carbon footprint/environmentalist crowd, cans are a lot lighter when it comes to shipping and much easier to recycle than glass.

So are you still prejudiced against beer in a can? And would you, like me, proudly imbibe a watermelon wheat beer in public, without hiding it in a can cozy?

Jameson Fink is a wine buyer at a bustling grocery store in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. He moved to Seattle from Chicago (where he dabbled in the restaurant and wine industries) five years ago to pursue a full-time career in wine. He’d rather be drinking Champagne and eating popcorn right now.