Founders Rübæus

Brewed by Founders Brewing Company
Style: Fruit Beer
Grand Rapids, Michigan USA

Serve in Flute, Shaker

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UPDATED: JUN 4, 2005 On tap: Obviously lots of raspberry in the aroma. Mostly sweet raspberry and a little Kool-Aid-ish. Transparent reddish-brown with a light pink head. Flavor is mostly a sweet raspberry with a light tartness that comes in the finish. Better than most raspberry beers I’ve had but not at the level of the New Glarus Raspberry Tart. Refreshing and drinkable, but not spectacular. ******* Just had one from the bottle and it’s the opposite of what I had on tap. Instead of it being all sweet Kool-Aidish raspberry, from the bottle it was all tart raspberry with very little sweetness for balance. Either way, my rating is pretty much the same.

Bottle, NB Flute glass: Pours just exactly has you would want, rich ruby hue with a pink frothy head and very good lace. The aroma is of course raspberry, but you can detect some bready malts, dusty yeast esters and aromatic hops under the layers of fruit. The taste starts fruity with more a balance between tart and sweet fruit than a sourness. However folks, this is no cloy syrupy fruit beer, the fruit tastes fresh and refreshing. Further taste gets a sublime note of bitter, biscuity malt and a woody (even though it is not aged in oak) undertone. The feel lively and quite resreshing in a simple way. This beer is quite good. Is it a sour raspberry beer, no. Is it is sticky sweet raspberry beer, no. It is a happy medium and show quality and brewers art. I am fully shocked on how much I am digging this. Glad I bought a sixer. Gosh, Founders is reaching new highs with every new beer. This is THE most improved brewery in America, period!

Very nice ruby red color with a short-lived pink head and no lacing. Aroma is a solid wave of raspberry with no other subleties, very one-dimensional in that respect. The flavor, however, is a bit of a different story. Sweet raspberry at first, but then quickly followed by a tart kick and then nice wheaty/malty flavor. No hops in this one (if that surprises you). Very good marriage of raspberry and real beer flavor, and a very good beer in its own right. I like this far better than any other fruit beer I’ve had.

Beautiful bright, clear dark ruby body with a pink, foamy head. Fresh raspberry aroma with hints of the underlying beer. Taste is rather sweet at first, but turns dry and tart. Again, the beer is actually present and there are no over-the-top fake raspberry characteristics. Much different than New Glarus Raspberry Tart: This beer is less sweet up front, less tart in the end, with a less-assertive raspberry presence and the base beer that comes through much stronger. I really enjoy fruit beers and this one is very well-made.

UPDATED: AUG 23, 2007 on tap at founders....a beautiful red appearance with medium off-white frothy head...a great raspberry aroma, with a similar raspberry taste...a much nicer raspberry ale than what is usually offered out there...similar to the raspberry pale, but a touch better
Earlier Rating: 3/22/2005 Total Score: 3.5
i really didnt expect much from this beer, but was surprised that it was actually pretty decent....not as good as the cherry, but very similar in many ways; a nice cherry red appearance with little white frothy head...aroma is of tart raspberries, but not much else....flavor has that tart bitterness to it, with a touch of dryness (reminiscient to a red berry, but not so dominant with raspberry)...one of the best summer quaffs

This seems to have hit Discount before the "locals" could rate it. Dark garnet colored liquid with a small, but lasting pink/tan head. Light fresh pureed raspberry aroma. Only a hint of malt in the background. Flavors start sweet and there is no doubt there are raspberries in this one. Malt shows up mid quaff, with pale a pale malt sweetness. Mild acidity kicks in right after the malt to help cleanse the palate and help things from getting to sweet. Linger is balanced between malt and raspberries. This is one I’m certainly going to have to try next to NG Raspberry Tart - should be an interesting battle. This seems to have more malt, but at times seems a bit simple. Still a great summer brew.

UPDATED: MAY 10, 2005 Thanks to Blake for scouting out (stumbling apon?) this beer and sharing. An agressive pour led to a deep ruby body under a stiff frothy pink head. Sweet raspberry syrup aroma with saltwater taffy to cut down on the sweetness. I was expecting to sip a NG Rasberry tart clone but this guy has an actual malt presence in the form of CRUNCH BERRIES. Yes, this stuf tastes just like those sugary-sweet morsels just with a tarter raspberry component. I suppose crunch berries weren’t alcoholic, but it’s still the first thing that comes to mind. I don’t know aobut this beer, it’s probably too big for the "chick beer" crown but might not appeal to the eXtreme stout crowd.

Slightly cloudy red / garnet in color with seemingly no head. Aroma is raspberries and dryer sheets, somewhat suggestive of what standing soapy water in a washing machine smells like. Flavor is raspberries (that’s a given), along with a good bakery-esque, sugary danish-type yeast complex. A little grainy. Body is fuller than expected. Well-balanced. A simple fruit beer that is not dynamic in any sense, but good in its own right, nonetheless.

UPDATED: JUL 17, 2005 The appearance is a pink foamy creamy looking head atop a ruby red body. Virtually no lacing. Bubbles like champagne. The aroma is definitely fresh smelling red raspberries. Like I’d get from my mom’s raspberry bush. A little bit of wheat hides underneath the huge fruitiness. Although, it’s not very complex, it still smells good. The flavor is like eating nutty (as in wheat berries) wheat bread with fresh raspberry preserves spread upon it. Tart, but good. The palate is thick with some stickiness. Decently carbonated.