Brewed By: Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 4-pack bought at Fischman Liquors and Tavern in Chicago, IL; 2013
Style/ABV: Fruit/Vegetable Beer, 5.7%
Reported IBUs: 15
Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 4-pack bought at Fischman Liquors and Tavern in Chicago, IL; 2013
Style/ABV: Fruit/Vegetable Beer, 5.7%
Reported IBUs: 15
Today is the best kind of Sunday, the lazy kind. About Founders:
The beer pours a hazy, dark ruby-red color, and kicks up a finger of vibrant, fizzy, pink head. The head looks like sexy, pink sea foam...and it's hanging around nicely and depositing some lacing. This beer just looks the part of a raspberry fruit beer, and is all the better for it.
Aside from some sugary malt sweetness and a lightly bready malt base, this beer plays the raspberry thing straight. The aroma is dominated with raspberry jam, huge fresh raspberry, some light tart fruit, raspberry puree, raspberry tea, and big crushed raspberry juice.
The taste is much of the same, with pie-filling sweetness and bready malts supporting lots and lots of raspberries. I'm getting raspberry jam, pie filling, cherries, cherry pie, raspberry puree, sugary raspberries, and some very light fruit tartness. There's a caramel sugar note in here, almost like a more complex, cooked out or burnt sugar.
In terms of the raw product, I enjoy raspberries more than cherries. I think I like this beer better than the Founders Cerise, and I thought that was a greatly executed fruit beer. This beer is packed with flavor, and none of it tastes artificial. This beer is easy going and refreshing, but it still packs a fairly dense, medium-light to medium-full mouthfeel. Palate depth is great, and the complexity is raspberry as advertised. At 5.7%, this is very drinkable. You get raspberry puree and bready raspberry fruit up front; that rolls into raspberry, raspberry tea, raspberry jam, some raspberry pie filling, cherry, cherry pie; the back end drops a hint of bitter sugary complexity (some caramel; burnt sugar)...the finish is refreshing and juicy.
The Rübæus is pretty bitching for a fruit beer. Described as "not another boring summer wheat beer or shandy," the Rübæus is brewed by adding fresh raspberries during multiple points during fermentation. Punching in at a reasonable 5.7% ABV and packing a mild 15 IBUs, this beer has the makings of a tasty summer brew.
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| Founders Rübæus |
The beer pours a hazy, dark ruby-red color, and kicks up a finger of vibrant, fizzy, pink head. The head looks like sexy, pink sea foam...and it's hanging around nicely and depositing some lacing. This beer just looks the part of a raspberry fruit beer, and is all the better for it.
Aside from some sugary malt sweetness and a lightly bready malt base, this beer plays the raspberry thing straight. The aroma is dominated with raspberry jam, huge fresh raspberry, some light tart fruit, raspberry puree, raspberry tea, and big crushed raspberry juice.
The taste is much of the same, with pie-filling sweetness and bready malts supporting lots and lots of raspberries. I'm getting raspberry jam, pie filling, cherries, cherry pie, raspberry puree, sugary raspberries, and some very light fruit tartness. There's a caramel sugar note in here, almost like a more complex, cooked out or burnt sugar.
In terms of the raw product, I enjoy raspberries more than cherries. I think I like this beer better than the Founders Cerise, and I thought that was a greatly executed fruit beer. This beer is packed with flavor, and none of it tastes artificial. This beer is easy going and refreshing, but it still packs a fairly dense, medium-light to medium-full mouthfeel. Palate depth is great, and the complexity is raspberry as advertised. At 5.7%, this is very drinkable. You get raspberry puree and bready raspberry fruit up front; that rolls into raspberry, raspberry tea, raspberry jam, some raspberry pie filling, cherry, cherry pie; the back end drops a hint of bitter sugary complexity (some caramel; burnt sugar)...the finish is refreshing and juicy.
Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)
For a fruit beer this is Strong Above-Average stuff. This is really straightforward in its approach and appeal, and it works out nicely. This is a great summer beer, and would pair well with a fruit salad, fruit pie, any dessert with fruits, chicken, sandwiches, lightly spiced grilled food, or a fruity sauce/puree. I hope Founders continues to crank out these fruit beers.
Random Thought: Speaking of fruit beers...
For a fruit beer this is Strong Above-Average stuff. This is really straightforward in its approach and appeal, and it works out nicely. This is a great summer beer, and would pair well with a fruit salad, fruit pie, any dessert with fruits, chicken, sandwiches, lightly spiced grilled food, or a fruity sauce/puree. I hope Founders continues to crank out these fruit beers.
Random Thought: Speaking of fruit beers...
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