Wild Beer Co: Beavertown: Rubus Maximus (England: Fruit Beer: 5.7% ABV)
Visual: Black cherry coloured, clear and with a large rouge bubbled head.
Nose: Raspberry. Tart. Black cherry yogurt. Apples or cider. Light oak. Fresh rice in a lightly spiced style, maybe nutmeg.
Body: Black cherry yogurt. Pepper. Apples and elderberry. Lightly acidic. Very sweet. Raspberry. Nutmeg. Twigs.
Finish: Red cherry yogurt. Brown rice. Raspberry. Elderberry. Dry. Slight cheeseboard. Wood.
Conclusion: This is very fruity. I know, a fruit beer, fruity, what a shock, but stick with me here. This is odd in that it is massively fruity, but often it seems more like black cherry than the huge amount of raspberries that were used to make it. This leads to an odd contrast between the raspberry tartness against the very sweet yogurt character that comes with the black cherry notes.
It is like a slightly tarter take on the New Glarus fruit beers. Now that is some pretty high standards to be compared to, and this even manages to have its own charm as well. It takes that acidic raspberry and adds nutmeg to it. The nutmeg gives a slight mulled warmth, while a mix of elderberry and cider like notes brace it with tart undertones. Together they mix around a very sweet and full main body of the beer, making for a very rounded experience.
For all the drying notes it has, the oak touches, and the acidic twists, it is still a remarkably approachable beer. It you let it warm to room temperature it gets a bit more intense, but not hugely so, and chilled the sweetness makes for a very good gateway introduction to the tarter end of the beer landscape.
On purely personal preference I put it below the New Glarus interpretations, but in a vague attempt at impartial assessment I will say it definitely plays in the same ballpark of quality. It has complexity of flavour, texture and progression. So much to enjoy, without elements that would put off many drinkers who are not used to such beers. Very classy.
Background: Wild Beer Co! Oh and Beavertown, they are good as well. This is a big collaboration made with 9 different types of grains, long pepper and a ton of raspberries. Also they added some of their spontaneously fermented sour beer. I’m basically just copying this from the back of the bottle. This was picked up from Independent Spirit, and was drunk with friends. Also I ha tried it on keg a few times before this review.
