550 mL bottle in the usual Sam Smith's fruit series presentation. This bottle came from Horrocks in Battle Creek, MI. Aggressive pour serves up a pitted white head that is not too well retained, on top of a pretty, bright orange body. Tiny amounts of lace. Nose offers a light, generic fruit note. I'll say one thing about the Sam Smith's fruit beers, they certainly bring a genuine fruit flavor to the party. Now, is that something that I want or care for in many instances, well no, but it's hard...
Notes on beers in the style
Fruit / Vegetable Beer
Samuel Smith’s Organic
Logsdon Two Rivers
Violette
Much the same as its sister beer, Two Rivers Noir in many respects. After cracking the cap there is an intriguing foam that protrudes out of the top of the bottle, as if it is fermenting - it is bottle-conditioned. Poured head is that of a soda. Fizzy but disappeared entirely almost entirely. Slightly cloudy, rose or purple colored body. Label tells us this is 75% Malbec grape Saison and 25% Brettanomyces Table Saison. Nose offers generic fruit. Mouthfeel is lively and quite fizzy. Lots of...
Corsendonk
Dubbel Kriek
Well this might be interesting ... 33cl bottle. Pour gives a cherry-red, brownish body with a pink tinge to the effervescent head. Bubbles fade fairly fast to yield some lace and thin film on the surface of the beer. Nose has mainly an artificial cherry smell that obviously opens up and grows on warming. Tastes are a chocolate covered cherry note with dashes of cough syrup in the there too. I mean there's just no getting away from that. The initial shocking sweetness actually goes away...
Cherry Chouffe
Well … it is what it is. Various shades of red in the body that range between dark burgandy to alarmingly red, depending on the way that the light hits the beer. The moderate head is slightly pink - again dependent upon the light source - and it leaves some decent lace. Nose has plenty of cherry notes, not too strong. It’s sweet, but honestly not too sweet. It threatens, but then backs off. As long as you want that strong cherry taste, and you don’t mind the sweetness, then this is a ‘beer’...
Leffe
Ruby
I suppose if all the hate directed at Leffe is really deserved, this is the beer that ought to take it on the chin to the greatest extent. As a fan of several Leffe beers (that gets me lots of stick), even in my sympathetic eyes, this is a weak offering. The reddish, rose, pinkish tainted pour offers a decent head and lace (considering what this is), and as long as you a ready for what it is, there’s little to complain about here. Nose gives some light sweetness. Tastes are those of a fruity...
Logsdon Two Rivers Noir
I love several Logsdon beers, I generally enjoy a wine influenced beer, and farmhouse funk is certainly part of my ‘favorite style’ profile. All good, things seem set fair here, then … or is it? Head is that of a soda. Fizzy but disappeared entirely almost instantly. Slightly cloudy, raspberry colored body. Large cheese funk on the nose, but that’s not carried forward much to the tastes. This is way too fruit forward for me. When look at the blend it is essentially 75% fruit beer, and it...
BIRD-DAY Volume II
Second in the 25th anniversary series. Collaboration with Gigantic. I do like a Mezcal barrel. I've come to learn that. Tangerine colored pour (appropriately enough) with a modest white head. Retention a little below average. Nose and tastes do exactly what is says on the tin. Medium tangerine notes build from the beginning and break across the tongue. The citrus element has a nice sweetness to it. Orange continues to ramp up down the glass. Salty notes accompany the very, very, very light...
Delirium Red
Actually didn't read the notes on this properly and thought it might have been a Flanders Red or dark Belgian - whoops! Still, not so bad! Brownish red pour with a nice, frothy well built head. Some lace. Woody cherries in the nose are not especially astringent. Quite mild in terms of any kind f aggression. It's not tart, it's not sweet, rather it's pretty tasty without being tiring. Smooth, simple, refreshing and tasty I probably want a beer like this once a year, but when I do drink it I...
Westbrook
Gozu
22oz bottle, Gose with Yuzu juice added. Bottled 12/18/13. First to greet the senses is an extremely odd smell. I guess that's the juice?! Clouded yellow body. Nice frothy head. An obvious light ethanoic acid note in the nose as well. This tastes odd. There's a fruit element coupled with a weird earthy taste that I cannot place. Unique? Yep. Does that mean good? Errr ... not really. Unadulterated gose would be better for my money. There's a funny, lemony, bizarre sourness (expected), but the...
Smashed Blueberry
22 oz bottle, somewhere between $7.99 and $8.99 in most Atlanta retailers. The gold foil and the vivid blue of the label make this an attractive package externally. The pour (a rich, almost black color with a super head and some nice lace) match the intensity and the pleasurable nature of the look, and have me salivating at the prospect of tasting it. Having drunk this last weekend, I actually went back and bought another bottle - partly because I enjoyed it so much the first time I drank it,...
Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale
12oz single, courtesy of Kevin - thanks mate. A clouded, "orangey", copper colored pour with some scant white head but a lack of much presence or lace. A somewhat attractive blueberry based fruit aroma comes off the beer, even when quite cold. This nose intensifies as the beer warms as the volatiles escape. Tastes are unfortunately less attractive than the nose would suggest, but in a surprising way. Sometimes, beers like this a criticized for their "imitation" fruit flavors but that's not the...
Frambozen Raspberry Brown Ale
12oz bottle in the usual New Belgium presentation. 20FEB11 is dot-matrixed on the label. New Belgium has been in the GA market for sometime, but this beer is a relatively new entry. Single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour is a really attractive, dark copper brown with great clarity and a spectacular abundance of bright read highlights. Really great color. Head is initially large but fades quickly to give a little lace and some thin film across the surface of the beer. Nose offers some...
Pink Killer
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Kraig tried to talk me out of this, but I KNEW that I would like it and I was glad that I went with my gut on this one. The beer pours a hazed, peach/pinkish color with a better than expected head. There is even a tiny bit of lace and some half decent retention! Nose has a slightly medicinal acidity. The taste is that of a lightly sweetened grapefruit with lots of decent fruit flavor. The beer drinks incredibly easily and is really refreshing....
Audacious Apricot Ale
Thanks to Kevin for the 12 oz stubbie bottle. In a nutshell, one of the nastiest beers in recent memory. The pour is a surprisingly dark orange, almost marmalade color with a HORRIBLE fizzing associated with it. Pours like a soda with no head or lace of any description. The beer also looks murky. The soda-like nature of the carbonation is worrying. Unpleasant non-descript, artifical fruit taste greet the nose and mouth and imparts a sickly, sugar attack on the senses that defies any real,...
Wittekerke Rosé
11.2 oz bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. My bottle is the "Framboise" that I'm pretty sure is the US version of "Rose". To be honest, I'm NOT against this kind of beer as a matter of principle, but having tasted this beer it's not something that I can take. Peach colored pour with a nice head that produces some lace. Th beer actually looks OK, as long as you observe it for what it is and no more. The nose is that bad either, with some artificial raspberry notes and some lightly acidic...
Autumn Maple
Arrived in GA a few days ago so this is my first engagement with the much, much hyped Bruery. In many cases it's not possible for the brewery to control the hype-train, but I'm really not sure how much good all of the hysteria ultimately, actually brings. Ho hum, on to this one. label suggests a five year window for cellaring which is all well and good, but unfortunately there is no date stamp to be found on the bottle. 750 mL, slender neck on the 750 mL bottle (looks a litte like the old...
Terrapin Pumpkinfest
22 oz bottle, Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Side Project #8. Dark garnet pour with an minimal amount of lace and head. Very nice color and excellent depth. Nose is typical for the style with plenty of poorly defined spice but also lots of cinnamon and burned sugar notes. The beer is a touch bitter but that fits with the style and links the color to the nose to the taste. Mouthfeel seems a touch prickly on the carbonation. Plenty of malts in the taste withe ginger talkng a leading role, but the...
Founders Cerise
12 oz single as part of a recent haul in Virginia. Stubbie bottle as per Founders presentation. A difficult to describe color; something between a mauve, hazed purple and the skin of light colored plum. Head is minimal, lace follows suit. Nose gives little away apart from simple malts, a touch of grain and a non-descript fruit character that one would not necessarily grasp as being cherry based. Tastes give a very muted cherry experience, and again not one that would stand out as being a...
Sweetwater Dank Tank Big Ol’ Belgian Blue Balls
22 oz bottle with the same basic artwork as the bottled DP but with a blue & white theme rather than the red & white. $5.79 from Green's on Ponce, Atlanta, GA, USA. I agree that the associated text on the bottle in relation to the name has simply gone too far and is in purely bad taste. I'm not offended, but to call it juvenile would be an understatement. It does craft beer no favors. Back to the contents... ....decent gunsmoke on releasing the cap and good hiss. Beer is well carbonated that...
Hell Or High Watermelon Wheat Beer
12oz can. Poured into the Tücher Weizen 500mL glass, the beer produces a light straw-like color, clouded appearance and a lack of much head at all. Lace is pretty much non-existent. Nose reveals something fruity, although frankly it is difficult for me to distinguish much in terms of watermelon. The tastes add more fruit, and although it is stronger than the nose it still seems more like pineapple or pear to me than watermelon. Definite "estery" angle no matter which way you look at it. Smooth...
Razz-Ma-Tazz Raspberry Hefeweizen
On Tap. Seasonal special with 17(?!) IBU's and 5.0% ABV as advertised on the blackboard behind the bar. Murky, pink appearance with a good head and excellent lace. Drinks almost exclusively like a fruit beer so I categorized it NOT as a Hefe, rather as a fruit infused beer. The raspberry flavor predominates but there is the mouthfeel and character of a wheat beer in there too. Nose and tastes have some decent raspberry notes and the beer is sweet and drinkable in one sense, but after one I'd...
St-Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Light orange pour with a soapy, thinnish head that fades quickly. Despite this the head imparts some decent, sticky lace - better than I was expecting. Nose is a fairly strong, summer fruit aroma. It has elements of apricot but also some serious peach tones as well. A bit strong and sickly. The nose runs right into the taste and we find similar attributes there. It tastes a little like one of those highly flavored, fruit chewing gums! Artificial...
Morimoto Soba Ale
22 oz bottle, Total Wine, Perimeter, Atlanta, GA, USA. The usual Rogue, screen-printed presentation. Very difficult to believe that I have not yet reviewed this brew, but here it goes. Pour is a mid-orange with some nice soapy head. Head is persistent and leaves some sticky lace on the glass. Nose and tastes have a mild sweetness. A balanced beer by any standards but if you put it in the context of Rogue's, often over-hopped brews this is especially surprising. Reminds me a lot of an English...
Blueberry Wheat
Another pretty dreadful effort from the sham of a "brewery" that is Hilton Head Brewing Co. An extraordinary beer in many ways. Firstly the color is essentially that of a Pale Ale or perhaps even an IPA. It has a mid-amber hue which would be fine if it were a beer that SHOULD look like that, but if you had asked me to categorize this, any type of "wheat" beer would have been my last guess. This is are recurring theme at HHB though, so God knows what they are doing with their malts and grains....
Samuel Smith’s Organic Strawberry Fruit Beer
Additional notes 07/06/23 (pictured) 14 years on the notes and experience are basically identical. Sam color, same nose and tastes, same attitude. Original notes 07/02/09 550 mL bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Poured into a wine glass. Pour is a strawberry blonde body, well carbonated with a slightly off-white, high head. Retention and lace are very good. Mild, sweet fruit in the nose. Seems balanced. Strawberry juice is present in the tastes but it is fairly muted. Definitely the most...
Samuel Smith’s Organic
Raspberry Fruit Beer
Additional notes 06/20/23 (Pictured) Now $7.99 for the 550 mL bottle, from Horrock's Market, Battle Creek, Michigan, USA. Fourteen years on, and almost identical thoughts to those that are given below. Strong raspberry seed on the nose, and still quite drinkable if you can get past the slight, cough-mixture feeling. Color is still amazing! To be honest I don't hate this beer, BUT about once every 14 years is the correct frequency! Original notes 06/10/09 550 mL bottle from Hop City, Atlanta,...
Warsteiner Premium Orange
Be afraid, be very afraid! I would imagine that many Germans are utterly appalled by this! Interesting purchase; $0.99 for this bottle, and $0.99 for the cola and the lemon versions, BUT I purchased all three along with a Stone RIS! I was wondering if the purchase would be noticed at the register of Duluth Fine Wines and Beer (I had my doubts), BUT it was! Comments on the "interesting" nature of the combo were encouraging; somebody noticed! Pours with a pale orange body and a pinkish head....
Warsteiner Premium Cola
Be afraid, be very afraid! I would imagine that many Germans are utterly appalled by this! Interesting purchase; $0.99 for this bottle, and $0.99 for the lemon and the orange versions, BUT I purchased all three along with a Stone RIS! I was wondering if the purchase would be noticed at the register of Duluth Fine Wines and Beer (I had my doubts), BUT it was! Comments on the "interesting" nature of the combo were encouraging; somebody noticed! Amber body that could pass for a brown ale from a...
Warsteiner Premium Lemon
Be afraid, be very afraid! I would imagine that many Germans are utterly appalled by this! Interesting purchase; $0.99 for this bottle, and $0.99 for the cola and the orange versions , BUT I purchased all three along with a Stone RIS! I was wondering if the purchase would be noticed at the register of Duluth Fine Wines and Beer (I had my doubts), BUT it was! Comments on the "interesting" nature of the combo were encouraging; somebody noticed! Pour is a VERY alarming, bright, lime green,...
Leinenkugel’s Berry Weiss
$1.35 from Green's on Buford as a single. Well, it is what it is, no more and no less so in that respect one cannot be too disappointed. Twist-off cap yields a strangely colored, orange/pinkish body with a light, fizzy head and some very light lace. Nose reveals plenty of fruit but it seems a little artificial Taste is ALL, light blackberry/indistinguishable fruits that lead to a pretty distinct sweetness but it does have a sharpish ending. If the truth be know if the weather is hot this IS...
Wacko
Extraordinary, pale pink clear liquid that looks like a few drops of blood have been added to a macro lager. Carbonation is on the high side with a white head and some lace. Crisp in the mouth, the beer offers little in the way of taste. VERY macro lager like in terms of vegetal and corn notes. A blind tasting would almost certainly yield a BMC guess. I think I would even struggle to drink this in the heat of a Georgia summer while grilling on the deck at 110 degrees - that's saying something!...
Pumpkin Lager Beer
$1.50 for the 12 oz single from Green's, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour is a bright orange affair with a slight cloudy character and some haze. A few floaties too. Head is a simple, 1/4 inch affair with decent retention but a lack of any lace. Aroma has an odd lemony nature about it which I would not normally associate with a pumpkin beer. Not nasty, but a little odd. "Tastes" hit the nose first and the manifest themselves in the mouth with a slightly strange, acidic peach like note. Finish has a...
Temple Garden Yuzu Ale
Having been mightily impressed with my first Baird Brewing beer that I tried last week (Natsumarkin), I was delighted to find this 22 oz bottle at Green's on Buford, Atlanta, GA, USA. $7.99 for the bomber. Pour is a magnificent, hazy, dark orange pour with a great looking fluffy head and some lace. It sits in the Tucher Weizen glass resplendent! Carbonation is excellent and consistent. Nose seems a little hoppier than one would expect and also has a soapy element. (This is NOT repeated in the...
Natsumikan Ale
Picked this 22oz bomber up from Green's, Ponce, Atlanta, GA, USA for $8.99.Tangerine pour with a high head and nice lace in the Duvel tulip. Head fades quite quickly to yield a spotty lace and collar. Nose offers a soft citrus note, but not very strong. A touch of potential hop bitterness too. Tastes are a very simple, light citrus that delivers a very refreshing experience. The aftertaste gives a more pronounced grapefruit like twang. Floral notes too. Very simple, very easy and very...
Feast Of Fools
Delighted to get this in a recent trade with Brad007. Sparing the details, he went to a lot of trouble to get this to me so major thanks go out to him. Delighted to have the opportunity. Thanks man! 32 oz mini-growler. I like the smaller size. Slightly murky, dark brown pour with some reddish highlights. In better light it settles to be a brownish, cranberry color. Nice looking head but it is short lived and leaves no lace. A slightly pinkish tinge (perhaps that's just my imagination!) Faint...
Wild Blue (Blueberry Lager)
Right out of the box, I think it would be really interesting to do a blind taste comparison between this beer and something like Lindemans Cassis. I think this beer would do better than one would anticipate. 12 oz single from Tower on Buford, Atlanta, GA, USA. What an EXTRAORDINARY experience! ALARMING purple pour with no head and virtually no lace. Considering that this is supposed to be a fruit beer, there is virtually no nose - I mean NOTHING. I suppose at least there is no nasty, skunk but...
Dragon’s Gold (Gluten Free)
12 oz single from Total Wine, Kennesaw, GA, USA. Bottled on 02/12/08. Pour is a lacklustre, perfectly clear golden pour. The film of head that form on the surface of the beer is light and there is no lace. Nose reveals a strong, sherry like liquor based aroma - I rather like it! It's the beer's strongest feature. Tastes reflect the nose just for a second and then the beer reverts to an acidic, sharp and rather unpleasant atifical bitterness. Finishes dry and bitter with an aftertaste that is...
Blueberry Wheat Ale
$1.00 for a 12oz single from Trader Joes, Sandy Spring, Atlanta, GA, USA. Best Before May 2009, screw top. ===***=== BA mmmbeer makes the following useful notes in his review of this beer; "It says Kennebunkport Brewing Co., yet the beer (as per the label) is brewed by Pugsley Brewing LLC. It's tagged here as being from Federal Jack's and it is distributed through Trader Joe's." ===***=== Poured into the Sweetwater Pils glass. Nice clarity and good carbonation. Golden yellow. Nice appearance....
Bass Ackwards Berryblue Ale
22 oz bottle from Josh as part of a recent trade - nice one, thanks man! Surprisingly dark pour. I was expecting a blueberry wheat affair along the lines of a Sweetwater Blue. Instead I got an amber body and a decent head. In fact, on reflection this beer is basically purple in color and has a pink head! Odd! A bit like a lager and black (see England in the mid to late 80's for a full explanation of that). Simple brew that holds up very nicely in its own category. Quite dry both upfront and in...
Samuel Smith’s Organic Cherry Fruit Beer
Additional notes 08/13/23 (pictured) Not as sweet or cough syrupy as one might think, it's still as drinkable (on rare occasion) as it has been over the years. The fruit is prominent, but it has a light, tart cherry edge. has a lot of the 1970s and 1980s Cherry Drop sweets (candy) about it. Still easy drinking in small amounts once a year, still enjoyable. Original notes 08/21/08 Drunk at the The Citte of York on Holborn in summer 2007. Reviewed from notes. I must admit that I initially bought...
New Grist Sorghum Beer
12 oz bottle as a single from Total Wine, Kennesaw, GA, USA. Pours a distinctly urine colored body with zero head and zero lace. Nose is a fruity alcohol with the emphasis on an acidic cider like angle. Drinks in a similar fashion to the nose with trat acidity and a distinct, fresh, crisp grren apple like taste. Odd aftertaste completes the package. Not bad, but it really goes to prove it isn't possible to make good beer without the correct ingredients. Nobody's "fault" as such, just a fact of...
Orange Blossom Pilsner
12oz single from Total Wine, Kennesaw, GA, USA. I didn't know that this was made by Thomas Creek before I bought it, and to be honest, had I known I would have probably passed. Almost everything from them has been a HUGE mess. Ho Hum, let's try again. Gold clarity on the pour, with a head that is certainly NOT large, but does leave a small film on the surface. No lace. Not bad looking, just the standard macro look. A touch of citrus in the nose, but not much. Mouthfeel is woefully poor; watery...
Strawberry Harvest Lager
12oz single bottle from Mac's Midtown, Atlanta, GA, USA. Part of the mixed sixer for $7.99. Not a big fan of Abita in general, so coupled with the style, I did not have high hopes. The beer turned out to be marginally more drinkable than expected, but not really anything I could imagine buying ever again. Poured from the 12oz stubbie (with the annoying label that has dates on it but that were NOT notched) into the Tucher Weizen 0.5L glass. Very light yellow pour, with some mild chill haze and...
Bell’s Cherry Stout
12 oz single. Sam's Blue Light, Durham, NC, USA. The third time I've had this - first time review. Pour is as black as night with (after the fizzing carbonation of the initial pour) no head or lace to speak of. Dead looking. Thinnish body with an acidic nature to the beer. Definitely more fruit beer than stout, and I don't really care for this much. Sour is the main theme, without much of a fruit note. Finish is tart sweetness. A very tiny lactose character in the finish. All in all, a...
Raspberry Tart
Thanks go out to brickstoredave (and Lucy Saunders) for the chance to try this beer - something I've been waiting on for some time. 750 mL with the usual wax-dipped neck presentation. Having had the Belgian Red (cherry) I thought that I knew what to expect, and this replicated the style of the cherry and did not disappoint. Straight from the outset I enjoyed this MUCH more. A dark crimson (almost blood like pour) even with a small head. It's raspberries all the way, both in the taste and the...
LongShot Grape Pale Ale
12oz bottle as part of the Longshot mixed sixer, $7.99 at The Wine Shop, Johnson Ferry Road, Marietta, GA, USA. Notched July 2008. Poured into the Sam Adams glass the beer has great clarity and initially a light, frothy head. The head fades quickly to leave some scant lace. Very bright orange color makes this look pretty good in the glass. Aroma is a solvent like alcohol as are the initial tastes. Some fruity character, but not distinguishable as grape to me. I'm not sure if that's the grape...
Wheach
12oz single as part of CEO/Old Farts BIF - thanks go out to Vancer. Oh dear. Insipid pour reveals a worryingly pale, cloudy yellow body. Small head leaves quickly and the lace is non-existent. Aroma is a strong Peach one. Mouthefeel is pretty thin, and the taste is, well, of nothing! "Watery" is the only real adjective. Virtually tasteless. I quite like a decent fruit beer, so that's not my problem, but this was terrible. Mainly water as far as I could tell. Is this macro hell?
UFO Raspberry Hefeweizen
12oz single from Mac's Midtown, Atlanta, GA, USA. Part of a mixed $7.99 sixer. I hated the regular UFO (thought it was AWFUL on draft and in the bottle), so I was worried about this. Poured into the Sweetwater Pilsner glass it has a pretty good head but not much lace. Slightly cloudy with a decent golden color. Acidic fruit aroma, but it was not really distinguishable as raspberry. The taste is similar, but with more raspberry content. Unfortunately it is watery to me. The diluted effect seems...
Smuttynose Hanami Ale
12oz bottle as part of a recent trade (Bleedingshrimp? Sorry I forgot). Dirty, rust colored pour, very murky. No head retention - little lace. Not attractive at all. Mild sour notes. Not much aroma to speak of. No distinct cherry flavor, but a slight sour fruit based note. Finishes bitter and tart. Not very interesting, not my cup of tea.
Founders Rübæus
12oz bottle. From a recent trade - not sure who, but thanks a whole bunch. Bright red color - a bit like that artificial sweet and sour sauce that you sometimes get with Chinese takeway (take-out for the Americans amongst us). A really genuine raspberry flavor - it tastes like the seeds that come in the real fruit. Very genuine. Easy drinking, mild tartness, very nice.
Bud Light Chelada
Well, well, well, you never know what's going to happen, do you? I pop into Taco Mac in Douglasville, GA, USA for a quick beer on a Saturday afternoon, and they are giving out 16oz cans of this stuff for free - being a true BA, I felt I HAD to a least try it, so I did! (The bar staff told me there was a regular Bud version too but I suggested that it probably wouldn't matter - perhaps I'll never know!) Pour is briefly fizzy and then settles to give a horrible, peach/orange colored liquid....
Kasteel Rouge
I've enjoyed the Kasteel range in the past because they have been realy quite sweet and I enjoy that characteristic, so I thought this would be the same. I was not disappointed. 750 mL bottle, corked & caged from Green's, Ponce, Atlanta, GA, USA. $6.99 (I think). Green bottle, with black foil on the neck. Nice looking presentation. Pour is a truly attracive deep burgandy color with a nice lively head that fades to give a nice thin film on the surface of the beer. A little lace. To me this beer...
Wells Banana Bread Beer
This had been on my Wants list for a long time and I eventually caught up with it on my recent trip home to England. A few weeks after returning from the UK, up it pops in GA! I'm pretty sure this is a new addition to the USA, let alone GA. Anyway, back to the beer itself. From a substantial 1 pint, 3.25oz bottle with a different, updated label from the one in the BA dB, it pours slightly darker than a macro lager yellow, with a small head, some carbonation and a small ring of retention. Good...
St. Peter’s Fruit Beer (Grapefruit)
At The Jerusalem Tavern with one of my closest friends - could it be any better? St. Peter's does it for me all the time, and this is no exception. Simple looking brew with an darkish, amber body the looks a little thin. Decent head, some lace and retention. Aroma is ALL grapefruit and to me it is wonderful. A LOT of depth in the nose. Happily the aspect of the grapefruit that comes through most in the taste is the bitterness as opposed to much fruit. The combination works well againast a...
Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy
12 oz single for Mac's, Atlanta, GA, USA as part of the $6.99 mixed sixer. OK, let's be quite clear about the problem here. The original Shandy is made with a mixture of mediocre beer of some desciption (either lager or bitter) and ENGLISH lemonade. English lemonade is a sugary, carbonated NEUTRAL beverage similar to Sprite or 7-Up. The whole "lemon" thing when it comes to English lemonade is a bit of a misnomer. NOTE TO MILLER: Do NOT use American style lemonade in Shandy's! This leads to a...
Melbourn Bros. Apricot
Won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoyed it. Extremely attractive pour, especially the golden, crystal clear body. Good head, but lace is scant and quickly gone. Aroma has obvious fruit, but to me it's a little more like a mild, low alcohol, scrumpy apple nose. Taste too is obviously fruit, and although less apple like it is still not easy for me to pin down as *specifically* Apricot. Drinks very easy with a big sweetness but at the same time it has a pleasing tang of sharpness at the...
Raspberry Wheat
A re-review in June 2006 since new owners now have the brew pub but have kept the Raspberry Wheat on. Having given this a 3.45 (overall score) back in 2004, this is now a completely different beer. It pours ridiculously dark (as did all of the beer on this visit, I wonder if they are using just ONE malt for all thier brews!) and it SUCKS! No head, completely still and lifeless this is a horrible looking beer with a murky brown body. It has a nasty, chemical acidity to it and both the aroma and...
Frambozenbier
$6.99, Rollers, Hilton Head Island, SC, USA. 375 mL paper wrapped botlle, corked & caged. Brownish, tea like pour with a cloudy body and some chill haze. Some figs in the nose. Aroma is VERY tart and sour with raspberries, almost like a vinagrette. Taste is MUCH sweeter than the nose would suggest. Clean, balanced and a well defined sweet and sour sensation. Finish emphasizes the sweet and sour theme and gives a final burst of raspberry. Even for those that are not really keen on fruit beers,...
Black & Blue
750, capped. Classy label. $10.99 from Jax, Sandy Springs, Atlanta, GA, USA. Poured into an over-sized wine glass. Definite light reddish hue, and looks fine (thin). Classy color as the light catches this on an early summer evening on a deck in South Carolina. Not much head or lace (even with an aggressive pour) but some spotty lace left on the surface. Definite vinous quality. Mild and tempting alcohol in the nose. Fruit based. A little more fruit in the nose, but I don't necessarily get any...
Herrn Radler Lemon Brew
$1.99, Michaels, Marietta, GA, USA. Interesting, but not very good. 2.7% ABV according to the label. Nice looking pour with lemon yellow colored pour and plenty of carbonation. Nice head and some lacing, looks promising. Dreadfully weak aroma, taste and body. Reminds me of what it basically is - an English lager shandy. Virtually no alcohol detectable and a rather plastic, artifical taste - not even as good as a Shandy Bass in a can from the late 70's! A little smoke in there too? Sweet malts...
Raspberry Imperial Stout
Thanks to Matt, BA SilentSabre for the opportunity to try this. At first glance this appears to pour jet black with a small coffee colored head with some garnet hues, but a closer look reveals a dark raspberry red/brownish color. This color is especially vivid when there is only a very small amount in the glass. Aroma is a milk chocolate sweetness and a hint of fruit but nothing close to the strong smells that some others have reported. Thin in the mouth, and that respect this is barely...
Wisconsin Belgian Red
Very unusual if nothing else. 750 mL bottle with waxed dipped neck. Turbid tan, brown pour with some head and lace, but only as a result of an aggressive pour. As others have noted the aroma was special - deep cherries, and it is very natural. Not artificial and sweet, but really genuine. A lot of sweetness in the initial tastes but this quickly gives way to a sharp, cherry based tart finish. The tart finish seems to stick in the throat a bit and is quite astrigent. Mild heartburn results. The...
Fort
$15.99, Brawleys, Charlotte, NC, USA. 750 mL bottle, bought in Jan 2006, consumed September 2006. Dark orange pour with an initial small head but obviously this fades really quickly. Aroma has the advertised raspberries which are certainly evident in the taste too, but even the strong fruit presence is overwhelmed by the alcohol. Not a lot else, just plenty of waming alcohol. Nice combination of sweet and tart. Not much here other than the alcohol. It drinks below its 18%, but at the same time...
He’Brew Genesis 10:10
Another interesting and very drinkable beer from this increasingly impressive brewer. 22oz, $4.95, Greens Buford Highway, Atlanta, GA, USA. Aroma is lots of malty alcohol, really rich. This beer has a certain fruitiness about it, but to call it a fruit beer does not do it justice at all. To me this drinks much more like an American Strong Ale - something akin to an Arrogant Bastard in fact. Sounds like a big claim, but I think it is justified. Color is that beautiful, dark red rust, with a...
Sea Dog Blue Paw Wheat Ale
Pretty much as you would expect. Very clear golden color with no head or lacing. Smell and tastes are a mild, artificial blueberry taste with little else except a slight bitterness in the finish. Not much taste or character. Refreshing on a very hot summer day, but outside of that, little to recommend it.
Cherry Chocolate Beer
I'll try anything once, and although I was grateful to have been given the opportunity by Travis (aka BigLove), I must admit I was a little hesitant. Brown pour with a distinct initial cherry aroma. The cherries continue into the first sips, but these are replaced quickly by the chocolate. The combination gives the finish a chocolate covered cherry taste - a bit sickly sweet and not what I want in my beer. The really odd thing here is the mouthfeel. There is a dinstict powdery feel to it, not...
Melbourn Bros. Strawberry
Orange pinkish body with an impressive head and nice lacing. The lacing has a pink tinge to it. Massive strawberry nose. Is this good or bad?? It's very, very sweet with an alco-pop taste, but a sufficiently tart finish to make you take notice. Beer? Well, it is so strawberry infused that it is difficult to tell. I guess women will love it, blokes won't. Very sweet but I suppose it has a novelty factor. Certainly you could open peoples eyes by telling them that this is beer, but it's very...
Morimoto Black Obi Soba Ale
Essentially this is, acts and drinks much like a low quality Porter. It has all the appearance, aroma and taste characteristics of a watered down version of the classic English brew. Some creamy head remians after the initial pour, but not much. A little lacing. A wee bit thin in terms of the body and mouthfeel for a Porter, but some decent smokiness and chocolate malt character in the beer. A little bit watery in the finish, but some hop bitterness in the end. A drying finish too. Caramel...
Éphémère (Cassis / Black Currant)
Orangey, peach body, with clarity, but a little chill haze. Some good carbonation, but the initially slightly pinkish head disappears almost instantly and consequently no lacing. Acidic fruit flavors in the nose, but the specific blackcurrant smell does not come through until the beer warms. Good, tart acidity in the initial tastes that slowly mellows. There is not much else other than the tart acidity in the taste. Mouthfeel is pretty thin, but at the same time refreshing. One of those beers...
Butte Creek Christmas Cranberry Ale
650 mL (22 oz) bomber. Decent looking light amber/orange pour with some chill haze, good head and some very, very nice sticky lacing. Unfortunately the lacing was the best part of this beer. There is *something* in the nose other than 'beer", but I certainly cannot distinguish it as being cranberry or even fruit. Some dry bitterness is upfront in the beer, which would be a characteristic of the cranberries, but again, it isn't really distinguishable *as* cranberry. Tastes like a dry pale ale....
Samuel Adams Cranberry Lambic
Pale yellow, macro lager like body with a slight pink tinge. Some nice carbonation and as a result a pretty decent head and some surprisingly good lacing. Taste has a refreshing fruit tartness with a little tiny hop bite in the short finish. The fruit is evident both in the taste and the nose, but I can't say that I can place either as being cranberry based. It's certainly a tart, acidic character but beyond that a bit non-descript. Refreshing and drinkable. This gets a very poor press here...
Saranac Mountain Ale
OK, not your everyday kind of beer, and it does have a somewhat artificial flavor about it, but despite that it remains drinkable. Good looking beer on all fronts. Nice burned gold coloring, decent head and some definitely better than average lacing. Aroma is not great. A sort of acidic vinegar smell pervades the "beer" smell. Its weakest point. Tastes. Definitely infused berry taste that is tart, and it blocks out most of the other potential flavors. Despite this, it finishes clean and crisp...
Unplugged Apple Ale
Great head with impressive carbonation. A Russet apple color to go with the the mildly sweet apple aroma. I was expecting this to be like so many apple based alcohol products, that is, just a glorified cider where the apple flavor often tastes very false. This was definitely not like that at all. Apple malt makes up a simple nose. A real sweet and sour combination with mild apples holding the whole thing together. Great mouthfeel (exceptionally refreshing) with crisp and bright carbonation and...
Oxford Raspberry
Light beer with a bit of a macro feel except the very nice head and good lacing. Very mild raspberry aroma and flavor, but not pronounced. Pretty average all around, but at the same time refreshing and non-offensive. A little bitterness in the finish, but not much else to report.
Strawberry Wheat Beer
Hazy, orange wheat style appearance, with a small head that disappears quickly and no lacing. A bit flat. Some very faint fruit in the aroma, but not much smell at all. A little bit tinny and acidic on the taste. Quite thin in the mouth, with a faint sourness and even fainter strawberry note in the finish. More apple notes come through as this is consumed, and it is pretty mouth puckering with the acidity apparently very high. On the plus side the fruit is not overpowering like some of these...
Buckwheat Ale
At last, a well balanced Rogue beer - strange that it comes in such an unusual brew. Deep golden orange pour with a substantial head. Lacing is good, but the head fades quickly. I would describe this as a "malt IPA", meaning it has hop IPA characteristics, and it has the appearance of a solid IPA, but shows at the same time it exhibits more sweet malt balance that takes it somewhat out of the IPA style. Some citrus notes, but they are very muted, but this is still a very drinkable beer. Nice...
Quelque Chose
Very, very interesting beer experience. This is different in the extreme and a very brave brew from Unibroue in my opinion. Deep brownish red color, with no sign of a head. My wife described it as flat iced tea, and that is a pretty accurate description of what you see. There is immense sweet and sour tartness that come together in the flavor. A bit like the old lager and blackcurrant mixing days of my adolescence; a bit of cider in there too and finally a bit of the Lidemanns lambic cassis. A...
Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat
Nasty. Very artificial cherry aroma and flavor is all you get here, and coupled with the alcohol it reminds me of kids cough medicine. That image and sense, are ones that I simply could not get past. Only one redeeming feature - a good, attractive head and some significant sticky lacing. However, this was probably the cherry syrup making it stick to the side of the glass! Don't bother with this, there are hundreds of other infinitely better fruit beers out there.
Éphémère (Apple)
Cloudy, yellow pour with a lovely, substantial head and that obvious apple aroma. I didn't find the apple smell overpowering; don't get me wrong it was strong and noticeable, but it didn't take over the beer for me. This is an amazingly drinkable beer. I first tried it in the Winter months, so I can only imagine what the drinkability would be like in the high summer. This brew is made for hot weather. To me it hits an interesting balance between a Wit, a Pilsner and a Fruit beer, that somehow...
#9
If you take this beer for what it is - a fruity extravaganza - and don't ask it to be what it's not - a standard pale ale - then you are likely to be very happy with it. To me, the apricot thing is not that strong. Don't get me wrong, it's an incredibley fruity beer, but there are many different fruit ester tastes present. I was expecting that, but what I was not expecting was such a delightful creaminess, a super drinkability and a lovely mouthfeel. Leaving the fruit to one side for a moment,...
Sweetwater Blue
For the life of me I can't really work out why a small brewery would attempt to brew a non-mainstream beer like this. It pours with a standard smallish head that disappears quickly, and has a distinct pale green/yellow appearance. Although this sounds somewhat unattractive it really does look pretty good. There is a very noticable blueberry aroma and taste, but both seem extremely articificial. I would like the appearance of some real deep dark, blueish colors in the beer that the addition of...
Purple Haze
Not really my favorite style, so this review may be somewhat biased. Very noticeable raspberry hightlights in both the aroma and the first taste. The raspberry flavor is very dry and sort of floral. I don't really go for the fruit beers very much at all, the reason being that I find that they can give this floral undertone that detracts from the "beer" taste. Even though this is a wheat beer, I don't think it looks especially attractive either. Very much a one-off purchase for me.
Orange Blossom Cream Ale
Wow! I was waiting to be disappointed by this, but what a shock, I really enjoyed it! Not being a big fan of fruit beers in general, I was expecting something quite different. Instead I got a crystal clear, lucozade colored, orange nosed, refreshing experience. Aroma is all orange with a large frothy head that disappears quickly but offers good lacing. It goes down very quickly which was probably a combination of the hot weather and it's very light body. Normally a beer this light in body...