Fruit- enhanced beers invoke mixed reactions from consumers. Some consider them a refreshing change of pace while others feel fruit has no place whatsoever in a malt beverage. I don’t mind a little fruit in my beer if and only if the final product still tastes like beer. Some attempts really miss the mark, but there are other fruit beers that seem to get the balance just right and one of them is Founders Brewing Rubaeus Raspberry Ale.
Beer Bio:
Beer Style: Fruit beer
Calories: 171 per 12 oz. serving
Carbs: Unknown
Alcohol Level: 5.7 percent by volume
Bitterness Rating: 15 IBU
Beer Facts and Figures:
Founders Rubaeus Raspberry Ale pours from the bottle to a red/garnet color with a pinkish head of foam that releases a fragrant bouquet of raspberries, with a little bit of sourness. This beer has a clear body, indicative of a well- filtered brew. And the taste is amazing. It features the flavor of raspberries, as expected, but it also offers flavors such as wheat, pale malt, and bready malts with a slight touch of honey. The beer alternates back and forth between the taste of bread/biscuit malt and raspberry fruit, for a taste combination that is much like eating a piece of raspberry pie.
Founders Rubaeus Raspberry Ale is a delicious, fruity ale made by one of the most respected breweries in the United States. I have enjoyed every Founders beer I have ever tried and there was really no doubt in my mind that I would like this beer as well. It seems nicely balanced between the sweet and tart and the firm malt backbone keeps the beer tasting the way a beer should taste. In other words, it has the flavor of a beer with added fruit, not fruit with added beer and it doesn’t taste like a malt cooler or mixed drinks.
As I said, the best quality of this beer is that it tastes like beer and this is more than I can say for some fruit beers, which often have a very light malt base that is barely detectable. Founders adds actual raspberries to the beer at different stages during the brewing process, resulting in a raspberry flavor that is real and delicious.
Founders Rubaeus Raspberry Ale is being offered as a seasonal beer and will be sold in stores only in July and August this year. It won’t be around for long, so grab yourself a 4 pack (this is how it is packaged) while you can. It is a little pricey, but the flavor is worth the money and everyone should try if they can find it between now and August 31.
Rating: 9 cheers out of 10
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