Hi, all! Welcome to back to our new feature called PUB DATE where Estelle from Rather Be Reading, Andi from Andi’s ABCs, and Maggie from Just a Couple More Pages and I all team up to pair books + beers in harmony! Each week, one of us will features a beer and a book of our choice, each with a different theme for that month!

This month’s theme: Beaches + BBQs

We’re keeping the summer theme going on Pub Date with some quintessential summery associates: Beaches and barbecues. I’m not a HUGE beach person (I can’t lay out — I just get too hot) but I do enjoy the feel of being at the beach and all of the memories of summers and vacations past! I also love barbecues — both for the food and I just love being able to cook outside — and they also remind me of making things over the fire from many camping vacations past so I guess what I mean to say is, this theme is making me all nostagic!

July has been kind of an insane month and this summer is already flying by (doesn’t it always?) so I won’t lie — I nearly forgot about my Pub Date post this month. Luckily, I had a good stock in my fridge of not beer, but hard cider! I never used to be a cider person at all. Not because I didn’t like it but because I’m such a beer person and I’m always looking to try new beers. Cider seemed like what you drank if you didn’t like beer but who’s to say beer girls can’t enjoy some nice hard apple cider on a hot summer day? No one. So I’ve been drinking some to quench my thirst and keep me cool! I just love how crisp apple ciders are and I’m sure there is zero difference in calorie content (or maybe it’s even more sugary?) but I’m like “Hey, it’s apple. It’s healthier, right?” Anyway. July seems to be the month of ciders so I thought that was perfect to share!

I was trying to come up with some beachy books but I’ve already featured one of my favorite books/series set at the beach on a previous Pub Date (NANTUCKET BLUE and NANTUCKET RED by Leila Howland) so I had to set my brain in motion to find something else to pair with my cider… So what better book that SINCE YOU’VE BEEN GONE by Morgan Matson? (Apple picking at night, anyone?) Emily also visits the beach for one of the challenges Sloane left her! SINCE YOU’VE BEEN GONE was my first Morgan Matson book and while I didn’t seem to  love it as much as everyone else did, I thought it was a really fun summer book and I actually really loved the ending!

Thanks for joining us for another edition of Pub Date! Missed any posts? You can catch up at any time on my blog page for the Pub Date Feature!

Recent Beers 

• Dos Equis Special Lager by Cerverceria Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma S.A. de C.V. American Adjunct Lager // 4.30% ABV. Dos Equis is my go-to Mexican beer of choice and I almost always get it when we go out for Mexican food! I love beers that go well with lime (or I guess I should say, I love when limes complement beers) and Dos Equis tastes much better to me than Corona!
• Allagash White by Allagash Brewing Company. Witbeer // 5.10% ABV. I get Allagash when I can because although we CAN find it in Illinois, it’s not sold everywhere. I love the flavors of this witbeer and I think it’s one of my favorites!
• Long Table by New Belgium Brewing Company. Saison/Farmhouse Ale // 6.20% ABV. We’ve tasted most of what New Belgium has to offer (well, locally anyway) and this is a new one for me! I really enjoyed it and since I’ve been really getting into saisons and farmhouse ales lately, it was just what I’ve been craving!

** Beer styles and alcohol content from Beer Advocate **
** Drink responsibly ** 

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