Everyone loves a good lawnmower beer from time to time. So named for the refreshing, thirst-quenching properties that make them so welcoming after mowing the lawn, lawnmower beers are usually light in color and alcohol and best served cold. Cream ale, Pilsner, Kölsch, Helles, and, yes, even American lager can be just the thing on a hot summer’s day.
However, a beer that smells or tastes like the lawn you just mowed is likely to disappoint. The Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) describes grassy beer as having the aroma or flavor of fresh-cut grass or green leaves.
Some amount of grassiness is to be expected from certain hop varieties. Fuggle, Mosaic, Tradition, and Boadicea hops, among others, can lend grassy notes, especially when employed as late-kettle or dry hops. I once drank a commercial beer that was dry hopped with Fuggle and served from a firkin, and all I could think of was wet hay.