Article: During those really hot days I usually save my bourbon for the late evenings and usually reach for a cold beer during the afternoon. Here is a great article from Hi Consumption that gives us a list of the 15 best canned beers. I’ve had many on this list and my favorite is still Dale’s Pale Ale, it is a delicious and hoppy brew that has a nice citrus flavor. If you are into flavored brews than you may want to check out the Hell or High Watermelon from 21st Amendment Brewery, it is a nice wheat ale that as a very light watermelon flavor that seems to creep in out of nowhere and a great choice for those hot days. Check out the full list here.

Books: If you are looking for a great book to relax with that is perfect for this time of year then check out The Summer of Beer and Whiskey. This is a great book that shows how beer really changed the game of baseball. Here is the official description of the book:

Chris von der Ahe knew next to nothing about base¬ball when he risked his life’s savings to found the franchise that would become the St. Louis Cardinals. Yet the German-born beer garden proprietor would become one of the most important—and funniest—figures in the game’s history.

Von der Ahe picked up the team for one reason—to sell more beer. Then he helped gather a group of ragtag professional clubs together to create a maverick new league that would fight the haughty National League, reinventing big-league baseball to attract Americans of all classes. Sneered at as “The Beer and Whiskey Circuit” because it was backed by brewers, distillers, and saloon owners, their American Association brought Americans back to enjoying baseball by offering Sunday games, beer at the ballpark, and a dirt-cheap ticket price of 25 cents.

The womanizing, egocentric, wildly generous Von der Ahe and his fellow owners filled their teams’ rosters with drunks and renegades, and drew huge crowds of rowdy spectators who screamed at umpires and cheered like mad as the Philadelphia Athletics and St. Louis Browns fought to the bitter end for the 1883 pennant.

In The Summer of Beer and Whiskey, Edward Achorn re-creates this wondrous and hilarious world of cunning, competition, and boozing, set amidst a rapidly transforming America. It is a classic American story of people with big dreams, no shortage of chutzpah, and love for a brilliant game that they refused to let die. Get it here.