Tag Archives: fruit beer

Fruit Stand Watermelon Wheat Ale — Kensington Brewing Co

By chris | Published: May 15, 2013

There are a lot of beers out there with fruit in them. To start with, the myriad lite lime type things that seem to have endless marketing budgets. There are also more than a few pleasing beers made in Canada with things like raspberries, apricots or blueberries in them. And, of course, there are the classic Lambics from Belgium, many of which have fruits added like raspberries, cherries, peaches or black currants. I have had more than a few of these varied beers, and have liked some, disliked others, and been madly in love with a few. But until Brock from Kensington Brewing Co told me about Fruit Stand last summer, I had not yet come across a beer made…. [Read More]

Posted in Beer Review | Also tagged ale, kensington brewing co., ontario | 3 Responses

Omerta Blood Orange Pale Ale — Bellwoods Brewery

By chris | Published: April 2, 2013

Fruit in beers, what can I say? They range from light lime lagers to the epic Cantillion Lambics, and lots of iterations in between. In some cases, the fruit is really the only thing you taste, in other cases it used to compliment characteristics of the beer. I used to say I didn’t really dig fruit flavoured beers, but with time and experience, I’ve found that there are actually many I do enjoy. So when I saw on Facebook that Bellwoods had a blood orange pale ale called Omerta from sale in their retail store, I headed right over to pick some up. It’s likely sold out at the store now, but fear not, and read on; there are still…. [Read More]

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3 Minutes To Midnight (Hellwoods on Sour Cherries) — Bellwoods Brewery

By chris | Published: October 31, 2012

3 Minutes to Midnight (Hellwoods Imperial Stout on Sour Cherries) — Bellwoods Brewery

Oh my oh dear. Is there anything Bellwoods makes that doesn’t turn to solid gold? Yes, those things that turn to platinum. If you like beer, and you haven’t experienced a beer from Bellwoods, stop reading this very instant, and go get some. Seriously. Consistently phenomenal beers, creative, exciting, stellar. While Bellwoods’ main production is for service in the brewpub and for sale at their retail store, some kegs make it out, and the rare old cask (we’ve had two at Castro’s Lounge, and that’s a lot). We scored this beauty last week, as it was the twin of a cask they prepared for Cask Days. It’s their amazing Hellwoods Imperial Stout, aged on sour cherries. And yes, that’s as…. [Read More]

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Smashed Blueberry — Shipyard Brewing Co.

By chris | Published: July 31, 2012

Smashed Pumpkin Ale — Shipyard Brewing Co.

So, I don’t know if it’s Ontario brain-washing, overly romantic memories of cottaging in Muskoka as a child, or a geniune love of the little blue berries known (cleverly) as Blueberries. In pancakes, as jam on toast, in pie. So if you put Blueberries in beer, I’m pretty much yours. Now, some of you will remember from last fall, I reviewed Ship Yard’s Smashed Pumpkin. Shipyard is not a brewery lots of people in Ontario are familiar with (due, mainly, to our wonderfully thought-out liquor laws) which is a shame. Shipyard has been making excellent brews since 1994, and are highly respected south of the border. Incidentally, Ron Keefe—of The Granite Brewery—trained with Alan Pugsley, Shipyard’s brewmaster. So while you…. [Read More]

Posted in Beer Review | Also tagged blueberry, Maine, porter, scotch ale, shipyard | 1 Response

St Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale — McAuslan Brewing Inc.

By chris | Published: July 10, 2012

Continuing along with my “stuff in beer” reviews, is St Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale. I’ve said it in past posts, but I’ll say it again: I don’t go in for this seasonal beer stuff. True, I think there are beers for specific occasions or times, but I would never consider turning down a delicious stout in July or a gorgeous weisse in February. I probably wouldn’t crack a Russian Imperial Stout to cool down after mowing the lawn, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have one with some chocolate after dinner that night. That being said, most people do identify beers as being seasonally appropriate, and this is one generally accepted as being a summer beverage. And there is no…. [Read More]

Posted in Beer Review | Also tagged apricot, mcauslan, quebec, st ambroise, wheat beer | Leave a comment

St Ambroise Framboise — McAuslan Brewing Inc.

By chris | Published: July 9, 2012

Another day another beer review. If you recall from my review of Great Lakes Green Tea Ale, I’m focusing for a while on those “summer-time” brews (though I prefer to not pigeon-hole beers seasonally, most people do) that have things added to them, from fruit juices, to spices, and beyond. Next up is this bottle from McAuslan, their St Ambroise Framboise. Now, aside from the obvious cuteness with the name, if you follow along, you know I’m a big fan of McAuslan. I actually say regularly that beyond not making a bad beer, McAuslan actually only makes excellent beers, or better. There is no doubt their Oatmeal Stout and Pale Ale are exceptional. So I’m always happy when Barry Pletch…. [Read More]

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Lemon Tea Beer – Mill St. Brewery

By chris | Published: July 5, 2010

So, as big and corporate as Mill St has gotten, they still do make some pretty unique beers. They seem to be pushing these beers this summer, releasing them as singles and in a mixed pack available at the LCBO. Lemon Tea beer sounds like a perfect summer cool-down, so let’s do this. From a 341ml bottle, the beer pours a cloudy deep gold. There is not a lot of head, but an active carbonation which leaves a nice film. The smell, unsurprisingly, is of lemons and black tea. Some sweet grains are present ifyou look for them. The taste is actually quite a lot of wheat beer charecteristics, spicy, with some honey-like sweetness. There is definitely citrusy tastes, but…. [Read More]

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Organic Raspberry – Samuel Smith

By chris | Published: June 28, 2010

Here’s the thing: I don’t generally really like fruit beers. Too often they taste of fake fruit flavouring, other times, the just don’t taste particularly good. There are exceptions to this rule, of course, like the classic strawberry beer from Belgium, Fruli. Samual Smith’s has yet to let me down, though so let’s give this a go! From a 500ml bottle with a very cool old-fashioned looking label, and the remnants of a date stamp on the neck (no idea what it said though), the beer is red-brown, slightly opaque, and has a lovely big bubbly head. Aroma is raspberry, with (strangely) a hint of blackberry. My bro Matt, over at onebeeratatime.wordpress.com said he tasted blackcurrents. Clearly, it doesn’t smell…. [Read More]

Posted in Beer Review | Also tagged ale, chocolate, england, samuel smith | Leave a comment

Cherry Ale – Trafalgar Ales and Meads

By chris | Published: June 16, 2010

So, despite a few less then ideal experiences on my own account, and a bad-hat-trick over at http://www.onebeeratatime.wordpress.com by Matt, I went ahead and bought this seasonal offering from Trafalgar (they do make Irish Paddy Red, which I’m quite enamoured with). So let’s see what happens! From a 650ml bottle with a best before date marked on the label, the beer pours brown with hints of red. A tiny head dissipated nearly immedately, to a nearly invisible ring. Aroma is fruity, I think I only thought “Cherries” because it said so on the label, but definitely a fruity berry-like aroma is there, as is some malty grains. The taste is a bit funny, there is some cherry to it, but…. [Read More]

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