By Herr Mike
I’ve been drinking beer for more than half my adult life now, but never have I seen such an onslaught of fruit beers on the market, especially fruit IPA’s.
STOP THE MADNESS!
Fruit in beer has been around for centuries now. The Germans would put fruit in their Weissbier, as well as the Belgians with their Witbier and Kriek lambic.
I even had some Stouts that were brewed with darker fruits like cherries and plums.
Who could forget throwing a lime in their Corona, thinking it was so cool to turn the bottle upside down and watching that little piece of fruit float to the bottom of the bottle. (That picture in my mind just turned my stomach a little).
Of course growing up drinking beer in the 90’s brings back memories of the bartender sticking a wedge of orange on the rim of that huge glass of Blue Moon. (Look mom! I’m getting my vitamin C!)
So time flies and now we are older and more wiser (I think) and we only drink craft beer, especially West Coast IPA’s, that have this real citrusy flavor to them because of the hops that are used to brew the beer.
FREAKIN’ GENIUS!
Certain hops can add a fruity flavor to the beer without actually adding fruit!
So why do we need a fruit variant of every IPA that your brewery brews? Where did this fruity madness come from? Do I need all this fruit in my craft beer drinking life?
I don’t want to throw out names, but you know who you are! Don’t get me wrong! I have had some very tasty fruit IPA’s, but when does it stop?
Call me old fashion, but I think brewing an IPA and using different varieties of hops is more creative than just dumping fruit in an IPA.
I understand that when a certain trend takes off everyone jumps on the bandwagon. It’s about money! No matter how you sugar coat it (or fruit infuse it) it’s about making more profit for the brewery, which is not a bad thing, but if I really like your IPA, you have me as a customer for life (unless you start adding adjuncts to your beers) then I’m running for the hills!
So my rant is over. I just would like for some of these breweries to take a step back and think about what made your original IPA’s so awesome. I’m sure fruit wasn’t on that list.
Check out hundreds of fruity and non fruity beers reviews!
Herr Mike is beer nerd, author, composer & creator of Planet Beer on Facebook and PlanetBeerGear.com Custom Beer T-Shirts & Hoodies.
Here, here, Herr Mike !! Grains, hops, water and yeast. Unless you’re brewing a blueberry oatmeal stout. This should be the only exception.
I agree Mike.It is just getting out of hand the way BBA stouts are out of hand.I mean if it is really good then I may change my mind but it seems like everyone is doing it just to do it and not trying to actually create something good.
Well Mike, I’m gonna have to disagree with you on this.
First off, there are countless 1000’s of IPA’s, Session IPA’s, Pales Ales, etc. that are not contaminated with fruit. If you don’t like fruit beers, don’t buy them. Plenty of people DO like them, which is why you’re seeing them.
Part of what make the brewing process interesting for the brewers, the breweries, and beer aficionados is trying NEW things. Sure, right now fruit beers are all the rage, but like all fads, this too shall pass. In the meantime, enjoy them…or not. Personally, I’m not a big fan of fruit beers. You and I never were. Even in Gose, and Berliner Weiss, I prefer the straight up versions. Still, it’s cool trying out some new flavor combo’s once in a while…That’s the exception, not the rule, but I DO like the fact that I have the option!
P.S. The thought of a Corona, lime or not, turned my stomach too – hahaha!!!