Going for the gold

Spring is in the air; baseball is on the mound; and a young man’s thoughts turn to... beer. Actually, as attendees at the recent Beer Summit proved, it isn’t just guys who enjoy a good brew. Men and women packed the three sold-out sessions at this annual gathering for beer lovers, where more than 40 brewers offered samples of their concoctions at each session.

But don’t fret that you missed out: Many of the same brewers are also exhibiting at the 11th New England Real Ale Exhibition, or NERAX, May 2-5 in Davis Square (George Dilboy Post, 371 Summer St., Somerville. $5-$15. For tickets and information, go to nerax.org).

Around 80 real ales from Europe and America will be sampled. Delaware microbrewery Dogfish Head, which has made a name for itself with its specialty India Pale Ales, will be airing its brandnew, limited-edition Black and Blue Ale, which was previewed at the Beer Summit. This dense, fruity flavored Belgian-style strong ale is fermented with blackberries and blueberries. Dogfish also has the seasonal Aprihop, which is brewed with apricots and finished with whole-leaf hops, creating a fruity version of its IPAs.

The local Gardner Ale House, which is not even a year old, will have a special treat at NERAX. Its Facelift IPA will be served so fresh that it’ll still be cloudy from the yeast that hasn’t settled. Gardner will also offer its new chocolate porter, a refreshing dark beer made from chocolate malt, which is barley malt that has been highly roasted until it turns a chocolate color and has a bitter, smoky taste.

Sorry, chocoholics, but when brewers say chocolate malt, they don’t mean it’s brewed with chocolate. However, Caroline Yeh, owner of Temper Chocolates in Kenmore Square (temperchocolates.com), holds monthly chocolate-and-beer pairing classes at the Wine Gallery in Brookline (375 Boylston St., 617-277-5522. $25 per person. wine-gallery.com). The next event is May 25.

Each month, South End Formaggio hosts special beer tastings. On May 4, Nantucket’s Cisco Brewers (ciscobrewers.com) will sample its Sankaty Light, the 3-C ale, created for Cambridge’s Oleana restaurant using chef Ana Sortun’s signature spices: cardamom, cumin, and coriander. Also offered will be Captain Swain’s Extra Stout, named after the brewer’s ancestors, the Swain family, one of the original families to settle Nantucket in the 1600s. The tasting runs from 5-7:30 p.m.

Today at the Samuel Adams Open House, there’s a free beer-and-cheese tasting (5-8 p.m.) featuring beers from the Boston Beer Co. Brewery (30 Germania St., Jamaica Plain. samueladams.com). Meanwhile, at its anniversary weekend event, May 4-5, the Cambridge Brewing Co. (1 Kendall Square, Cambridge. 617-494-1994. cambridgebrewingcompany.com) will celebrate 18 years with 18 beers. Rare beers, that is, like the spontaneously fermented black beer Pisser Mauvais; an imperial stout, YouEnjoyMyStout, barrel-aged for 13 months; and the Arquebus barley wine, cellar aged for 18 months. CBC’s chef, Brian Roskow, who incorporates byproducts from the brewing process and beer into his dishes, will prepare 18 beer-infused specials. There’s no cover, and normal bar pricing will apply. Pouring starts at 5 p.m. and when the special-edition brews are gone, they are, well, gone.

NEW BREWS, NEW BARS

Spring and summer see the return of lighter seasonal beers. Boston’s Harpoon Brewery (harpoonbrewery.com) recently launched its first year-round beer in more than nine years: the refreshingly malty Brown Ale. In May, Harpoon will issue a new seasonal, a peche-style beer, which incorporates five malts with fresh fruit and copies the peach lambics brewed in Belgium. Of course, Harpoon’s popular Summer Brew is back, too. The Boston Beer Co., which is best known as Sam Adams, has also brought back its seasonals, but the Spring Ale’s name is changed to White Ale, though the recipe remains the same.

Allston’s Deep Ellum (477 Cambridge St. 617-787-2337. deepellumboston.com) is a wonderful addition to Boston’s beer scene. Allstonians are known to like their PBR, and this four-month-old bar includes that blue-collar charmer in its ‘‘nostalgia’’ section. Really, though, with a superb selection of Trappists, lambics, spatens, IPAs, stouts, porters, pilsners, weisses, and many more different beer styles, it’s a crime to hit the can of cheap fizz. Instead, try a snifter of Middle Ages oakaged, dry-hopped (which means an extra sachet of hops is added during fermentation for that extra kick and bitter flavor) Wailing Wench ($5.50), which is made from chocolate malt and looks like a stout but has IPA character. Deep Ellum’s lunch and dinner menus include great multiethnic comfort fare, as well as housecured meats and sausages; there are tasty beer-centric snacks, such as soft pretzels with mustard ($2)and chili dogs ($4).

In Kendall Square, the Swan (223 Cardinal Medeiros Ave., Cambridge. 617-661-1166) relaunched this winter as a beerfriendly restaurant with a bar area and also a cozy lounge, perfect for groups to sample specialty beers such as Berkshire Brewing’s delicious porter or the rich, malty Woodstock Pig’s Ear nut brown ale. Nibble great angel-hair onion rings ($4.25) or nosh on a gigantic Xtudo burger ($12.50) topped with mushrooms and an egg. The Swan has a reputation for cleaning and flushing its beer lines thoroughly, something that is absolutely essential for a great beer experience.

In December, the Bukowski Tavern offshoot, the Lower Depths (476 Commonwealth Ave., Boston. 617-266-6662), opened in Kenmore Square. This modern bar is decorated in grays and geometric patterns and is dominated by its mural of grimlooking boozers. Similar to its siblings, it has more than 100 bottled beers and a changing list of around 15 taps, such as the wonderful pale ale from New Hampshire brewery Smuttynose ($5.50). It’s a great summer brew full of malty flavor and lemony notes. For food, stick with the simple dishes, such as $1 Fenway Franks and the King of Kenmore chicken and bacon baguette ($10).

FOOD & BEER

Pizza and beer are like the proverbial horse and carriage. Stone Hearth Pizza Co. opened its third location in Needham (974 Great Plain Ave., 781-433-0600 stonehearthpizza.com) this month. Six microbrew taps and individual and locally made beers complement ingredients used in those innovative pizzas. (Stone Hearth also has locations in Sudbury and Belmont, though Belmont has just four brews on tap.) Stone Hearth switches beers regularly to keep the selection seasonal and exciting, including Endurance Pale Ale, Wolaver’s Organic Oatmeal Stout, and Allagash White Ale.

Along Boston Harbor, French restaurant Sel de La Terre offers around eight eclectic microbrews. It’s the only place in Boston to find Westport’s Buzzards Bay brewery’s Black Lager ($7.25), a refreshing chocolate malt brew with a creamy texture. On the lighter side, there’s Julius Echter’s Hefe Weizen ($7.25), from Germany; at the other end of the scale, Lindeman’s raspberry lambic from Belgium is incorporated with champagne to create the delicious Belgian Malinois cocktail ($12).

At the restaurant Dante in the Royal Sonesta Hotel (5 Cambridge Parkway, Cambridge. 617-497-4200. restaurantdante.com), mixologist and self-confessed beer obsessive Stephen Shellenberger has created some fun summer brews. The Tlaxcala muddles Mexican tecate beer with mint and adds a sweet nonalcoholic agave nectar to create an utterly refreshing light beer perfect for the barbecues on Dante’s patio overlooking the Charles River. The Strong Beer is aptly named for its addition of a housemade blackberry shrub, a sweet blackberry liqueur made with a secret ‘‘neutral alcohol’’ that Shellenberger doesn’t like to identify. (‘‘I like to keep people guessing,’’ he says. We guessed grappa.) Owner and chef Dante de Magistris has created his own brew, topping his favorite Italian Peroni beer with a silky lemon foam. ‘‘Perfect for steak frites,’’ he says.