Whether I’m lounging on the patio or entertaining indoors, fizzy adult beverages are my favorite summer sips. Lightly effervescent drinks with bright acidity and fruity notes play well with so many summer foods, including grilled fare, salads, takeout fried chicken, and salty snacks — a happy hour staple. From a hazy IPA to a frizzante rosé, here are four Texas-made artisan drinks that we’re crushing on this summer.
Lone Pint Brewery Yellow Rose SMASH IPA
This outstanding single hop and single malt (SMASH) IPA from Magnolia has a big following, for good reason. The dominant grapefruit and pine notes from Mosaic hops are beautifully balanced by clean malt flavors of bread and caramel. It’s a juicy IPA with a dry, medium-bitter finish — and the 7% alcohol content is well-hidden. Enjoyable on its own, it’s also great with grilled foods, burgers, barbecue and fried chicken. It’s sold in six packs of 12-ounce cans for $11.99 to $12.99 at Pogo’s, Sigel’s, Spec’s, Total Wine and Central Market. lonepint.com.
City Orchard ‘Lavender Royale’ Cider
City Orchard’s dry hard ciders are made in Houston, using apples grown and pressed on its own New York orchards and neighboring farms near Lake Ontario. This cider is lightly infused with Hill Country lavender and East Texas honey, which lend aromatic notes and a bare hint of sweetness to the tart apple flavor. It’s great with goat cheese, salads, grilled chicken, and crackers with creamy dips or light cheeses. Unlike most commercial ciders, City Orchard does not use apple concentrate, and the result is a more complex dry cider, with an alcohol content of 6.5% ABV — higher than that of most concentrate-based ciders. Think of this refreshing drink as a lower-alcohol alternative to sparkling wine. It’s sold in four-packs of 12-ounce cans for $8.77 at most Central Market, Whole Foods Market, Market Street and Total Wine stores, as well as H-E-B. cityorchardhtx.com.
Bending Branch Tannat Frizzante Rosé, 2022
Fun, fizzy and fruity, this rosé comes from one of the state’s premier producers of bold, structured reds featuring tannat, an inky, tannic grape. In a stroke of genius, Bending Branch makes this lightly effervescent rosé using its signature tannat, grown in the Texas Hill Country. Tannat makes for a more structured rosé, bursting with wild strawberry flavor; carbonation adds just enough bubbles to make it a refreshing crowd-pleaser. Topped with a crown cap, it’s easy to pop open. You could sip it solo, or pair it with grilled or boiled shrimp, crab cakes, goat cheese, melon with prosciutto, or strawberries. This spring, Boulevardier restaurant in Dallas hosted a wine dinner and paired this rosé with a strawberry-rhubarb galette topped with cream cheese ice cream. The wine sells for $24.95 at Central Market (Lovers, Preston-Royal, Plano and Southlake stores), and H-E-B. bendingbranchwinery.com.
The Austin Winery Pét Nat, 2022
Made with grapes from the Texas High Plains, this naturally sparkling rosé is more polished than most pétillant naturel wines (sparkling wine that’s naturally made and bottle-fermented, commonly called “pét nat”). A blend of 87% mourvèdre from Crooked Post Vineyards, and 13% malvasia bianca from Nogalero Estate, it’s complex yet fun and easy-drinking. The wine’s tart cranberry, wild berry and melon notes are backed by a saline minerality. You don’t have to be into natural wines to appreciate this special sparkler. Pair it with charcuterie, pork or grilled salmon. It’s sold at Pogo’s ($28) and Foxtrot Market ($35). theaustinwinery.com.
Tina Danze is a Dallas freelance writer.