Coney Island Sword Swallower Steel Hop Lager, Shmaltz Brewing Co. (Olde Saratoga Brewing), Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

• $4.99 / 22-ounce bottle at metro beverage stores

Shmaltz Brewing Co. (ENLARGE)

BOB TOWNSEND BEER PICK E-mail Townsend Related: • More on food and drink • Restaurant reviews and search More Townsend New brews for fall and Oktoberfest  Budweiser American Ale  Craft brewers a perfect fit in Slow Food Nation event  Sweetwater Motor Boat Ale  Weyerbacher Brewing on track, after a struggle  • Bob Townsend is editor of Southern Brew News, a bimonthly beer publication distributed throughout the Southeast.

• Profile: Some more fun stuff from beer marketer Jeremy Cowan and Shmaltz Brewing (makers of He'Brew). The Coney Island Lager series commemorates sideshows by the seashore, with some really cool freak-show label art. And part of the proceeds help fund the nonprofit Coney Island USA, www.coneyisland.com. Though Sword Swallower is billed as a lager, it drinks more like a red ale, with a medium body, malty backbone and plenty of hop bitterness. It's brewed with five different specialty malts, seven hop varieties and dry-hopped with a blend of Cascade, Crystal and Amarillo hops. Look for the original Coney Island Lager and the Albino Python (spiced with ginger, orange peel, coriander and fennel) in stores now. Coney Island seasonals, Freaktoberfest will be out in September, followed by Human Blockhead in January.

• Pair with: Call Sword Swallower an amber ale or a hoppy amber lager. Either way, it would pair well with summertime grilling favorites, including burgers, sausages, chicken or spicy Cajun or Caribbean dishes, such as gumbo or Jamaican jerk pork. But the natural match would be a Coney Island hot dog, with sauerkraut and mustard.