With a hurricane scooting out of the way today, the weather guys are all predicting a really hot weekend. Sounds like a good time to relax indoors or by the pool with an ice-cold beer (please enjoy responsibly--no dehydration!). We rounded up some reviews by our beer expert, Neil Sando, in St Pete (our MLK store) to give you an idea on where to look.

A few weeks ago, Stephen Schmitt at our Fletcher Ave, Tampa, store posted about craft beers in cans. You'll see that some of the same make this list as well, along with Florida Brewing Company's Swamp Ape IPA (it smells better than the legendary Swamp Ape, by the way).

Rating scale:

• 10-Entry


• 10-Mouth-feel


• 30-Flavor characteristics


• 10-Nose


• 20-originality/epitome


• 10-finish


• 5-Color


• 5-potency (based on average for that beer style)

Harpoon IPA: Good nose. Hoppy, but not even remotely overpowering. Good gateway IPA. Better than I remember the bottles being. Little pine in the nose. Tasted of mild bitterness with a note of apricot. The fact that there is a variety of IPA in a can is enough to make me happy on its own. Easy to drink, clean finish with little to no aftertaste. 79/100

 Harpoon Summer Seasonal: Easy drinking light-bodied offering. Very approachable. A person could buy this for a party and be certain that it will be a crowd pleaser. Beer snobs will enjoy that it's a craft beer, and premium domestic drinkers (you know who you are) won't be shocked when they try it. Mild flavor, little hop presence. Straw-like color, light malt nose. Has a near sweet flavor. Kinda like an easier to drink version of Kona Longboard (not as dextrose sweet). Kolsch style beers are not my favorite but all beers have their place. Nice refreshing mouth-feel. 70/100

Brooklyn Summer Ale:  Initial aroma out of the can, as the gas escapes, is very pleasantly hoppy. (It reminds me of opening up a vacuum-sealed bag of hops.) Perhaps it has Willamette? Eight out of 10 points on the nose  (just for being a summer ale with this much nice hop aroma). Flavor is like a barely pale ale. It has a sweet finish (described as bready) and the flavor of very mild pine and rind of citrus. It gets 25 out of 30 on flavor. Entry is smooth and clean (4/5) Mouth-feel is nice. Little linger feeling on the mid palate: (7/10). Finish is clean with no lingering flavors (8/10). Color: Golden, as it should be (5/5) Potency 5% abv (4/5) Originality: (15/20) (76/100)

 Old Chub: Lots of sweetness on the nose. Smells like my house after I brew some beer. (10/10) Mouthfeel is hearty, nearly chewy. Similar to a porter. (8/10) Entry is super smooth. (8/10). Excellent dark brown color (4/5) Potency is high. 8% means this is a heavy hitter (5/5) It epitomizes what a good scotch ale should be. (18/20) Flavor is delicious. Anyone who wonders what a beer tastes like before it's brewed (wort) should try this beer. It is very close to the wheat tea that you make at home. This beer's gravity must still be pretty high. (18/20) Finish is a bit heavy but that is expected with this kind of beer. (8/10) (79/100)

 Dale's Pale: Wonderfully hoppy pale ale. It's a great standard in a can form. The aroma is pretty pungently hoppy but not overpowering (9/10). Finish is super clean and smooth. (9/10) Entry is nice and almost sweet on the front of the palate. (9/10) Mouth-feel is light bodied enough to pass as very refreshing. (8/10) Excellent flavor. Has enough hoppyness to get a hop-head going but not so potent that a craft amateur will turn their nose. Very little malt flavor, the hops really take center stage. (25/30) Color is very nice and typical of the variety (4/5) At 6.5% it is a pretty reasonable potency (4/5) Epitomizes a refreshing pale ale. (18/20) Great with anything hot. Hot food, hot weather. Perfect summer craft beer, and it's in a can! (86/100)

Florida Brewing Company Swamp Ape IPA:

 For the hop heads out there in Florida, there is a new brew in town... and it's a beast! Florida Brewing Company's Swamp Ape IPA is an imperial India pale ale that is powerful and well balanced. At 85 IBU's it is on the higher scale of bitterness but the five varieties of hops that are in the recipe are balanced out by wonderfully fruity malt characteristics (orange, apricot, mango). The aroma is an accurate representation of what your taste buds can expect. The nose has citrus and a bit of malt and alcohol (at 10% abv, it better!) If there is one thing I love about this beer, though, it is the head retention and lacing. The foam layers around the side of the glass are absolutely beautiful. While it may be a bit on the wild side for some people, this beast is quite tameable and will leave you wanting more. I highly recommend trying this great local brew! (88/100)