The best types of holiday beer: From the first slurp to the balcony bev

The first beer

You can’t look past the first beer of the holiday. You’ve touched down, ditched your bags and hit the bar. The travelling is done and dusted, the sun is out and you’re soaking up the surroundings you’ll be calling home for the next few days or weeks.

The moment that beer touches your lips, the holiday is well and truly up and running. Lightweight or not, the buzz you get from that first sip takes some beating.

The airport beer

Here’s a question for you. Is ‘the first beer’ we’ve described above really the first beer? Many of you raised the airport beer as the true first brew of the holiday – and the best.

Maybe a controversial take for some, particularly if you’re Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary, but the airport pint is an absolute must for Brits heading on their holidays, according to your comments.

Whether it’s 4am or 4pm, you’ll always find pints being sunk at British airports. It’s the ceremonial start to the holiday. You start to relax, you’re through security and a short plane ride is all that stands between you and the beach.

The balcony beer

The balcony beer is another that gets a lot of love. The balcony is your throne where you can look out over the holiday kingdom. That feeling of sitting outside in shorts and t-shirt after dark, gazing out over the sea, the beach or your resort, just never gets old.

And while you’re admiring the scenery, it’s only fitting to have a beer in hand. Fresh out the fridge on a self-catering stay or brought back from the bar at an all-inclusive, it’s the perfect beverage for this setting.

Maybe you’re waiting for your partner or friends to get ready, gearing up for a big night or just having a scroll on your phone – there’s so many balcony moments that are capped off by a beer.

The local beer

We know that many of you love sampling the local refreshments on holiday, and that was clear again when we asked about holiday beers.

You were quick to champion your favourite drinks while on the continent, from Mythos and Efes in Greece to KEO in Cyprus. All worthy shouts. Even if you can get them over here, they definitely taste that little bit better when you’re on holiday.

The beach beer

Another strong candidate for the holiday beer hall of fame, the beach beer was one a few of you threw into the hat.

The beach beer comes in a few different varieties, all of which get the tastebuds tingling. There’s the supermarket beer you’ve handpicked and brought down to the beach. Cracking that open after setting up camp is a moment to savour.

There’s also the beers that are practically forced into your hand by a local seller – not that you’d take much persuading when it emerges from a bucket of ice and dangled in front of you.

The beach bar beer is beautiful too. You need a break from the sun and retreat to a shaded beach bar, convincing yourself a cold pint of ale is the ideal cure for your probable dehydration. Bliss.

The ice cold beer

It’s perhaps not one that comes to mind straight away, but the ice cold beer could be a dark horse in the holiday beer leaderboard.

When you find a bar that does beer in frozen glasses, it’s like striking gold. It’s the novelty that makes this beer so enjoyable. Let’s be honest, it only makes sense on holiday. Frozen glasses in your local pub would be a bit naff.

The by-the-pool beer

Much like the beach and the balcony, next to the pool is one of those dreamy locations for a drink.

Maybe you’ve been for a dip and you’re sprawled across your sunbed, or you’re preparing for the slowest of laps around the pool with a nutritional drink, either way a beer is the answer.

One of you even had the audacity to combine the first beer with the by-the-pool beer. The audacity…

“When you get to your hotel, have unpacked, got your shorts and flip flops on, that first beer sat by the pool.”

The free beer

The free beer was one that was raised in our comments too. All-inclusive holidays give you that feeling of free beer. You can stroll up to the bar whenever you feel like it and have a pint in your hand in seconds. No payment necessary. Does it get any better than that?

The beer cocktail?

Of course, beer is not everyone’s drink of choice on holiday. It would be wrong not to salute the cocktail lovers among us.

As one user put it: “Get a cocktail in ya instead, much better than beer.” Fair enough. Squint your eyes and swap Pina Colada for every mention of beer in this article. Still sounds pretty damn good.

Are there any holiday beers (or cocktails) we’ve missed? Let us know by commenting on our Facebook page.