Van Diest Früli Strawberry Beer

Most beer geeks worth their weight in mash will tell you, rightly so, that fruit beers are often horrible beers. Only a small handful of brewers properly utilize fruit in their beer. A few craft brewers come to mind, but even more so, a whole country comes to mind: Belgium. Belgium reigns supreme when it comes to real fruit beers, and a new player on my block is the Fruli Strawberry Beer from Brouwerij Hyughe. Brewed with real strawberries and strawberry extract, the latter is a bit worrisome, but I trust the Belgians to know what they are doing.

If there were ever a fruit beer more suited to be served, admired, and supped from a champagne flute, I can’t think of one. Soft and hazy, puffy white clouds dyed in freshly pureed strawberries have settled in my glass. Hovering almost magically, she is topped by mousse dyed in pink rose petals. Her nose is gentle strawberries and cream with a touch of vanilla and warm pie crust. She exudes freshness. Never too sweet, a touch of powdered sugar sprinkles dance atop her strawberry and cream pie before drifting away upon a lazy afternoon breeze. I feel almost naughty as I dip my lips and tongue deep into her pinkish depths, but I soon forget all inhibitions as rapture envelopes. Her mouthfeel is one of the softest I have felt, and her palate is far more subtle than her nose. No overbearing thick syrupy sweetness here. As my tastebuds dance in delight, fresh strawberries blend into a ménage-a-trois of strawberry smoothie, strawberry pie, and strawberries and cream. Her finish is short and clean with a touch of fresh vanilla and pie crust. Further in, a playful nip of tartness develops into freshly sliced granny smith apples and orchard fresh green pears. In fact, orchard fresh is a great way to describe the overall palate of the Fruli Strawberry Beer. A wonderful summer refresher, I am enjoying her all by herself, but I can imagine at least a dozen dishes where she would also shine.

I’m not afraid of fruit beers anymore, though every now and then an evil one will sneak into my fridge and scare the bejesus out of me when I least expect it. It’s ok though. So long as I have my Belgian fruit beers, Fruli included, all is well in my world.

Bottle thanks to mar. Pink with a small white head. Aroma is strawberry jam, kool-aid powder and wine cooler. Taste is strawberry jam, sugar, sugar and sugar.

25cl, from De Bierloods Adegem, not complex sweet fruit brew, not balanced, too sweet, cloudy, small head, nothing special

250ml bottle at LCBO - Pours a nice "strawberry" colour with a quick-fall head. Aroma is just straight up strawberry juice. The taste however... more along the lines of a light pale lager/perrier with a hit of strawberry flavour. A nice change, but not something I would drink regularly.

RBESG Sheffield 2009, tap at the Harlequin. Hazy reddish colour, pink head. Aroma and flavour of cloying strawberry sweetness, not much else to it.

Ahhhh... liquid strawberry jam. More red than pink in colour, ok cap that lasts. Smells pretty much like strawberry jam but not that over the top super sweetened garbage. Weak melon? Not to sure about that one. Taste is pretty much the same with a slight malt and quite sweet. Pretty tasty stuff even though it’s very straight forward. Well, I guess that pretty much sums this up.

8.4 oz bottle from Beer Run in Charlottesville, VA. Pours a hazy red color with a thin head. Poor head retention and lacing. Aroma is fairly overwhelming and very sweet strawberry candy. The taste is even sweeter. A bit of bread pokes through from the wit, but this is pretty much dominant and overwhelming sugary sweet strawberry candy. Those cellophane wrapped ones that perpetually existed in your grandparents’ candy bowl. Those. That’s what this beer tasted like. Sticky, cloying, medium bodied. Meh. Post script... so sweet it’s beginning to hurt my teeth. Good lord. Cutting the last 4 ounces or so with a Widmer Hefe. Much better.

Pours bright red, with a tall pink head. Aroma is dominated by strong sweet strawberry. The beer is incredibly sweet and the only flavour is straeberry. The finish is very smooth, and just a little malty. But the beer is soo sweet I want to puke. The strawberry flavour is too strong and frankly offensive. It is almost like eating jam. I like a fruit beer, that is beer first and fruit second.