Southern Tier Brewing Co - Raspberry Wheat

Ah, fruit beer - I've tried and reviewed a couple of examples of this style recently, and they've all, without exception, been very refreshing and simple beers.  The kind of drink that goes just brilliantly with a light riverside meal or picnic on a balmy summer's day such as we've been experiencing (a bit more sporadically than I'd have hoped) recently.  The kind of beer which, for some inexplicable reason, often gets labelled as a 'malt beverage' rather than a true beer, as if it were some kind of processed, manufactured alco-pop - a really unfair label, as these beers are just as worthy of the name as the IPAs or stouts which connoisseurs are more inclined to praise.

I guess there's understandable reluctance on the part of some hop-heads to fully accept fruit beer - generally these styles are very low in IBUs, so any hop aroma is usually very restrained, and hop bitterness is at a minimum in order to let the fruit flavour through.  But really, I say there's nothing wrong with a well-crafted, uncomplicated fruit beer to celebrate the season.  Particularly when they're as well-made as the ones we have on offer in Upstate.

Tonight's example comes from Southern Tier - I've already reviewed a couple of their beers and have been very impressed with both.  So here's hoping this one is true to form!  Oh, and by the way, the glass in the photo is my commemorative sample glass from the Real Beer Expo.  It's a much better glass than the ones I've been using (yes, the kind of glass you use really does make a difference!).

This brew pours a light, straw colour, with low to moderate carbonation.  Although you can't really see it in the photo, it had a good-sized white head with decent lacing (poor retention, though I'm not going to hold that against them too much).  It's brilliantly clear, with no haze that I could see.

The aroma features prominent, tart and fruity raspberries, with some faint hops detectable underneath.  It's great when a fruit beer smells of the real fruit rather than an artificial syrup.

It tastes a little sweet, with the raspberry featuring prominently and sitting at the back of your mouth.  It's got that lovely sweet and tart combination which I always love about summer fruits.  There's also a very mild hop bitterness detectable in the taste, which complements the fruit nicely and doesn't clash.  It's almost as if it's there to gently remind you that you're drinking a real beer.

The mouthfeel's smooth with a fairly low carbonation level, possibly a little low for the American Wheat style.  The body's pretty light, just as it should be for a summery fruit beer.  The finish is slightly sweet but not cloying.

A really nice fruit beer with some subtle hoppy touches.  Here are my scores:

Appearance - 4.5/5
Aroma - 3.5/5
Taste - 4/5
Mouthfeel - 3.5/5

Overall - 3.875/5.  It's a really great summer brew, perfect for the hot summer days ahead.  The balance of hops and fruit was particularly unusual - in the best way possible.

Ellicottville Brewing Company - Blueberry Wheat

Ellicottville is right in the southwestern corner of New York, a small town that's best known for Holiday Valley, a ski and golf resort which is a major tourist attraction for the region.  It's known as the Aspen of the East.

I was never much of a skier - I took one lesson as an extremely un-coordinated teenager, on a family holiday, and ended up colliding with some poor Austrian kid in the most undignified manner imaginable.

I tried to use my 6 months of high-school German lessons to apologise and make sure the guy was OK...knowing my luck, I probably accidentally told him that I have 5 cousins and 4 aunties, and that I enjoy potato salad with sausage and sauerkraut.

Which would explain the confused look he gave me as he beat a hasty retreat into the snowy mountains.

So, me and skiing - not a match made in heaven.  Me and beer, however - much better suited, as I discovered a couple of years later in college.

That's good, because Ellicottville has had its very own brewpub since 1995, appropriately named the Ellicottville Brewing Company.  They have two locations - one in Ellicottville, and another in Fredonia - and their brews have received international acclaim.  I'm excited to try out another Upstate brewery, and one which puts out award-winning product!  Some of their brews sound really interesting - for instance 'Pantius Droppus', an Imperial Pale Ale which apparently gained a priest's blessing at a summer festival...the mind boggles but I'm certainly intrigued.

So, I'm reviewing their Blueberry Wheat - fruit beer is always great for the summer, and I think American Wheat is often chosen for the base style because it's got a light body and gentle character which allows room for the fruit character to make itself known, and not clash with any strong malts or hops.

The brew pours a straw-like colour, with brilliant clarity and moderate carbonation - a discernible head but not too big.  This is just right for a wheat-based fruit beer.

As far as the aroma goes, the blueberry is quite strong and sweet, with a subtle wheat underneath.  It's not overpowering, and it's a sign of good things to come!

The beer has a good, distinctive blueberry taste - not artificial and not overly sweet, with a slight tartness which you'd associate with the fruit itself.  As you drink, a sweetness comes through and lingers in the aftertaste.  Hops are restrained and not overt in the taste - a good thing, as I'm not sure a distinct hop flavour would be a good complement for the blueberry.  A really pleasant, summery beer.

The mouthfeel was light in body, with moderate carbonation.  Refreshing and thirst-quenching - as a summery, fruit beer ought to be!

Overall, this is a really good fruit beer with great character - a cold six-pack of this would be a great addition to anyone's summer cookout, or an evening out on the porch with some friends.

Ratings:

Appearance - 4.5/5
Aroma - 4/5
Taste - 4/5
Mouthfeel - 4.5/5

Overall - 4.25/5.

Ithaca Beer Co Apricot Wheat Beer

I haven't had a chance to visit Ithaca yet - I've driven through a couple of times though, and it's a beautiful place.  What I do know is that it's a small college town (population of around 30,000, according to Wikipedia), home to Cornell University and Ithaca College, with lots of natural beauty in and around the city.  It's in the south-eastern section of the Finger Lakes, about halfway between Syracuse and Elmira.  A cursory glance at some of the images of the city and the surrounding area makes me desperately want to spend more time there and discover more of the culture and countryside in this region - I really need to get out of the city more often.

Ithaca's also got one of the more prolific craft breweries in the area, appropriately named the Ithaca Beer Company.  They produce a wide range of brews, from the usual suspects like IPA, Pale Ale and Nut Brown, to less common varieties like Gorges Smoked Porter, CascaZilla (an aggressively-hopped Red Ale) and Ground Break (an 'American Saison').  They also carry the Excelsior Line, a series of premium-quality craft beers which come in 750ml bottles.  Can't wait to give those a try when the wallet allows...

Today we're looking at their Apricot Wheat, a familiar style which becomes really popular as the weather warms up.  'Winter warmer' beers lose their appeal for many and give way to easy-drinking, light-bodied, gently-hopped styles.

Ithaca's Apricot Wheat is a pretty good example of the fruit-beer style, it's got enough of a body that the fruit flavour doesn't totally overwhelm the experience, but it's definitely and unmistakably got that fruity hit that makes these beers so enjoyable.  Here's the breakdown:

Appearance - Like most wheat beers, this is pretty cloudy.  This was pretty cold from the fridge so there may have been some chill haze too.  No head to speak of, and only mild carbonation.

Aroma - the apricot esters come through in the aroma, but don't overpower the senses.  No major hoppiness, mild grainy aroma from the wheat.

Taste - the apricot flavour tasted ever so slightly artificial (I noticed it's brewed using 'natural apricot flavour' rather than fresh apricots).  The underlying wheat beer was detectable, with the grainy goodness and low bitterness you normally associate with that style.  Finished fairly dry, with the mildly plastic-like apricot flavouring lingering.

Mouthfeel - mildly carbonated, with a good medium body.  Pleasant, easy drinking beer.

Overall, this was a pretty good fruit beer.  I would definitely drink it again, especially as the weather warms up and I aim for something a little lighter.  I'm giving this a 3.5 out of 5.

I've got more reviews on the way, including Ithaca's CascaZilla, a locally-brewed British style beer, and my second homebrew batch.  I also have some exciting developments in the pipeline - watch this space!