As the weather begins to warm, people look for any excuse to get outside and enjoy the sunshine, preferably with one of the crisp, refreshing brews of the season. Meadville, PA-based Voodoo Brewing Co. White Magick of the Sun is such a beer. This light-bodied white ale is brewed with plenty of spices to assure it isn’t a simple, one-trick swallow, but instead provides a more complex sip, one worth sharing at the picnic table.

Emptied from 12-oz. bottle into a tumbler, White Magick appears similar to many white ales. The slightly hazy orange hue is topped with plenty of foaming white head, so much that you must moderate your pour lest the beer explode onto your tabletop. As listed on the label, a heavy bill of spices gives a multi-pronged scent, on that blends of orange peel, peppercorns, juniper berries and lemon.

From the first sip, White Magick is extremely refreshing. The peppercorns and juniper balance nicely with a medium-bodied, pleasantly citrusy brew. The flavors combine to remind of a saison that is heavy on orange and lemon, setting this apart from a standard white ale.

Warm weather is a great excuse to try lighter-bodied ales that have been sparked with something different. New flavors can work well against the basic canvas of a simple white ale or saison and this offering from Voodoo — currently available throughout the state of Pennsylvania — is a great (and affordable) starting point.