Red, Red Raspberry

Yea, I really enjoy fruity beers. Deal with it. With all of the fruit beer's I've attempted to seek out over the years, there's one local one that I haven't got my hands on yet. How could I have been so forgetful? Penn Brewery on the North Side plans to bottle this year's batch of Summer Berry Weiss some time this week, according to the brewery's Facebook page.

This almost makes me want to compile a small list of my favorite fruity brews that are brewed here in the Pittsburgh area. Lucky for you, before I do that I want to have tried this Berry Weiss first.

In my experience, I find beers with fruit used as a slight adjunct to be just about equal in taste to ales using fruit as one of the main ingredient. Sometimes fruit goes wonderfully with a well-crafted witbier or hefeweizen. Some have an awesome citrus zing. Others have something sweeter like a strawberry or apricot wheat. In some cases you have something that's pretty straight-forward like a blueberry ale (sometimes my favorite).

This Summery Berry Weiss seems to take on the persona of the witbier spectrum. Yeah, I know some out there are snickering since it says "Weiss" on the bottle.  I've had Leinenkugel's Berry Weiss (yea I know it's owned by the evil empire) and it tasted more like a wine cooler. These beers can sometimes go either way. Well, here's to getting my hands on a few pints or bottles of this stuff! I'm hoping to delve into quite a few fruit beers as spring begins to make its way here.

Beer Review: East End Monkey Boy

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: 4.8 percent

Appearance: East End Monkey Boy has a chroma of pale gold. It's almost a straw yellow. It's very hazy and foggy. The beer has an impressive crown atop the body. It's a vivid shade of white and is fluffy as well. The head also leaves plenty of lacing as the beer travels towards the bottom of the glass.

Smell: First, I got an aroma of sweet banana bread. If you sniff a little longer, you can pick of strong hints of wheat and clove. This beer also smelled somewhat spicy and peppery. A heavenly aroma.

Taste: The clove and pepper sensation really pops the tongue when this beer is consumed. There was also a flavorful sensation of banana that comes through slightly on the front, while a tad of hop character complimented it on the back. The carbonation provides for an awesome texture, too. Sensational flavor in this beer.

Overall Rating: 

This is one of the first beers I look for when I walk into a local pub or tavern. According to Scott Smith (East End's head brewer) there isn't any actual banana used in the brewing process! The yeast that's used goes a long way in creating that banana flavor that's there. The fact that there isn't any banana used in the brewing process just adds to the luster of this beer. It's sweet, spicy and has an awesome texture going down.