This North Shore brewery is perhaps best known for its eponymous ale, but the star of its roster is Farm House, a saison. An homage to beer originally brewed by farmers in Wallonia — the French-speaking part of Belgium — Ipswich’s version is slightly spicy and citrusy, with a creamy finish typical of a good saison. This beer pairs incredibly well with oysters and is available year-round.

Availability: Ipswich Ale Brewery’s restaurant, the Brewer’s Table, is currently open for takeout as well as indoor and outdoor dining. Farm House is available on draft and for purchase onsite in crowlers, cases, and six-packs. It’s also available at stores around the region.

Another North Shore brewery, only this time it’s the Zwickel we’re after. This unfiltered German pale lager is simultaneously sweet and dry and goes great with grilled meat, especially sausages. It’s available year-round.

Availability: Notch is currently offering curbside pickup for beer to go, as well as contactless beer and food table service outdoors in the brewery’s biergarten. Zwickel is currently on tap at the biergarten but not available for curbside pickup. Notch distributes throughout Massachusetts and Maine.

Idle Hands’ Evelyn pale lager (brewed in conjunction with Brato Brewhouse & Kitchen in Brighton) is light and refreshing, with the slightest hint of lemon on the finish. It’s good with pretty much everything and is especially well-suited for a good old-fashioned New England clam bake.

Availability: Evelyn isn’t currently on tap at Idle Hands or available for curbside pickup (the taproom is currently offering onsite consumption on the patio as well as some cans and bottles to go), but you might spot it in area stores such as Downtown Wine & Spirits in Somerville’s Davis Square (which delivers within a five-mile radius).

Aeronaut’s Sister Alva is a dry-hopped golden ale fermented with Belgian yeast that gives it a pleasant but not overwhelming fruitiness. (And If you insist on getting an IPA in addition to this excellent beer, try Aeronaut’s most beloved beer, A Year With Dr. Nandu.)

Availability: Aeronaut’s courtyard is currently open, and the brewery is also selling beers to go (pickup and delivery available; details here). Sister Alva is available on draft and to go.

Lamplighter’s Giants Under the Sun is a low alcohol-by-volume, eminently crushable Helles lager. It’s floral and malty and is best imbibed ice cold and in the sun.

Availability: Four-packs of Giants Under the Sun are currently available for pickup at Lamplighter’s daily retail counter or shipping within Massachusetts. (The taproom is closed to onsite consumption at the moment.) You may also find it at one of Lamplighter’s accounts in and around Boston, Cambridge, and elsewhere in Massachusetts, along with some stores in New York City.

The roof deck at Dorchester Brewing Company is going to be one of the best places to hang in the city sometime in the future when it is safe to gather in crowds again. (It is currently open, albeit with capacity limits, masks, etc. as dictated by state guidelines.) For now, the easiest move is to pick up a four-pack of its excellent Helles lager, Helles Bier, and some food from onsite barbecue restaurant M&M BBQ.

Availability: The taproom is open, both indoors and out, for onsite consumption, and takeout and delivery are also available. Helles Bier is available to go in four-packs as well as mixed six-packs; find ordering links and details here. Onsite, it’s available in a sampler size, full pour, and part of a flight.

Turtle Swamp has an impressive roster of beers, which includes one of the best hazy IPAs in Greater Boston. Alas, this map is not about all that. Instead, opt for the dry-hopped golden lager, which is made with malt and hops produced by growers in Massachusetts.

Availability: Turtle Swamp has outdoor seating available at its original Jamaica Plain location as well as at its beer garden in Roslindale, which also has indoor seating. Pickup from JP (walk in or preorder) and delivery (Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Dedham, Somerville) are also available. While four-packs and cases of All Ears are listed on the pickup and delivery order form, they were sold out as of press time. Drinkers may have luck finding them at one of these area stores.

The perfect beer doesn’t exi...

Just kidding, the perfect beer absolutely does exist, and it’s Jack’s Abby’s house lager. This golden lager is perfectly balanced — quite malty, and the slightest bit bitter — and it is the kind of beer that you’ll want to have in your fridge at all times.

Availability: The House Lager, available year-round, is easy to find; try the beer locator to zero in on all the local stores that are currently carrying it. Plus, the beer garden is currently open (with the House Lager and many other options on tap), and six-packs are available for takeout.

Castle Island’s American Lager is made in the tradition of Bohemian pilsners — think Pilsner Urquell — and is crisp and malty sweet. This beer is award-winning for a reason.

Availability: American Lager is available in six-packs for curbside pickup, or watch for it at many stores around Massachusetts and Rhode Island.