With the changing of the seasons comes a change in available types of beers. Winter is known for its warm, smoky and thick stouts and porters like Two Brothers Northwind Imperial Stout, as well as sweet, caramellic, brown ales and bocks. These beers are great for a cold snowy day, but as the weather starts to warm up a more refreshing style of beer is in hot demand.

Beers like wits, saisons and red ales are great spring time beers, but the most iconic beer released in the spring is the maibock. This is a helles bock in the lager family that is slightly hoppier then its bock relatives. It is also lighter in color, but still just as strong in terms of its alcohol content, typically being in the 6-7% ABV range. One of my favorite maibocks comes from Smuttynose Brewing. It has a lot of the sweet, brown, malty notes of a traditional bock, but is crisper and has slightly more hop presence for a refreshing finish. If you're interested, Beeradvocate has an extensive list of well-rated maibocks from craft brewers across the nation to choose from to bring in the spring season.

Cheers!