Yummy Beers - No Longer Just For the Boys

Wine is no longer the only drink of choice for us. And we shouldn't have to resort to Smirnoff Ice, Mike's Hard Lemonade...or the dreaded Wine Cooler.

For the majority of us who crave something other than Bud Light, Miller or Coors, there are increasingly more choices of what I like to term "Pink Beer."

We have chick flicks, chick lit, and now "chick beer."

Hard Cider
I think the first incarnation of "girl targeted beer" was Hard Cider. A favorite that is easy to find at many bars and pubs on the New England coast is Magners Irish Cider. Beware girls, it's a big bottle so you will be chugging the night away. They have also recently introduced Pear Cider. Always a good addition to the cider family....

A more upscale cider is Doc's Apple Cider - a local favorite from Warwick Valley, New York - Doc's Cider comes in a variety of flavors including Pear Cider and the always popular Framboise Cider. Doc's can be bought on their online marketplace or via many wine & beer shops - and even Whole Foods outlets in NYC.

Better yet, take a short road trip with your girls to Warwick for a weekend away and visit the Warwick Valley Winery Marketplace to stock up on Doc's. My girlfriends and I went Memorial Day Weekend a couple years ago for the Bob Dylan Festival - we stayed in a nearby B&B, took a hot air-balloon ride and went to a drive-in movie. A classic throwback to simpler times...

Lambic - Belgian Beer
On to the more upscale "Pink Beers"- Belgian Beer. First introduced to Belgian Framboise beer at a Beer Garden in the West Village, I have been in love ever since. Lindemans, a Belgian Beer Farm family has been brewing Lambic since 1811. Wow.

Lambic beers come in several flavors including the most popular Framboise (raspberry), Pomme (apple), Peche (peach), Cassis (black currant) and Kriek (cherry).

You can buy Lindemans in many wine and beer outlets around the city, and most recently Trader Joe's! So exciting! Just don't order it at Resto - you'll pay $16 bucks for a $6 beer.

Plum Beer
So I need to do try to find some store sold plum beer, but I have to plug the plum beer served at Aki Sushi West 4th. For $6 bucks you can get a tall glass of plum beer. Now they wouldn't tell me where they source it from and I have never had it before, but I am guessing it is some homemade mixture of plum wine and light beer....

Somebody should bottle that up quick! A light beer with a hint of plum that I love from plum wine. Just perfect.

Now you have some options for your next girl's night in - not just sangria, wine and cocktails. Impress your friends with the latest and greatest in fruit infused beers. And didn't you know? Red wine isn't the only "healthy" drink.

Beer actually has a lot of healthy qualities that can improve your digestive system.