Summer is coming along beautifully on the Bay with the thunder, and across the lake, camps are open, docks are out, boats are launched, and decks are sunnily beckoning.

At home, all the dad-tastic summer chores are in the works—there are cars to be washed, lawns to be mowed, grills to be cleaned, and pools to be filled. After hours, all the father funtime begins in earnest as well, with lines to be cast, pigskins to be thrown, canoes to be paddled, and of course, a cold beer for dear old dad waiting to be cracked.

At our house we’ve been downloading “dad rock” playlists (only slightly more summer anthem-y than yacht rock) to accompany us on all our adventures inside and out. With tracks that range from bombastic Bruce Springsteen to The War on Drugs, classic Steely Dan and Modest Mouse to sonorous David Bowie and Bon Iver, or melodic Led Zeppelin and Guided By Voices, dad rock has become the soundtrack for all our summer dad-centric fun. 

So, this Father’s Day, celebrate your dad—fire up the grill, throw on a playlist for pops, let him put his feet up, and bring him out that cold beer that he so well deserves.

Think:

Is your pops always spinning a yarn? Then grab him up this light lager while he tells you for the hundredth time how he walked to school backwards in two feet of snow.

Storyteller Beverages Storyteller Lager

$2.95 for 473 ml

 

Have you finally driven your dad around the bend? If you’re making him crazy, then he might as well enjoy this funky fermented IPA before he loses his noodle.

Forked River Brewing Co. LoCo Hazy Kveik IPA 

$3.60 for 473 ml

 

Does your pop-pop pull out all the rusty monikers when you and your pals are around, like “you young whippersnappers”? This traditional-style Mild might be the trick for him.

Henderson Brewing Co. Whipper English Pale Mild

$3.30 for 473 ml

 

Dad drew the short straw and gets to be on soccer/baseball/dance driving duty with you and half the team? Load up the minivan and afterward, let him have a cool, juicy IPA.

Refined Fool Brewing Co. Van Full of Weirdos Juicy IPA 

$3.75 for 473 ml

 

Is papa always tinkering on that big block engine, and up to his elbows in grease? Grab him this retro-style cherry cola to keep him cool in the garage—and a rag to clean up, too.

Blood Brothers Brewing Autopop Session Sour with Cherry Cola Flavour

$4.95 for 473 ml

 

Heard the one about papa going to see Jefferson Airplane in his Volkswagen Beetle? Yeah, I have too. Music fan dads can chill out this summer with this hoppy IPA.

Nickel Brook Brewing Co. Head Stock West Coast-Style IPA

$3.45 for 473 ml



 

By Jeannie Dubois, Pommelier and Sommelier