Melbourn Bros. Strawberry
Melbourn Bros.

Melbourn Bros. StrawberryMelbourn Bros. Strawberry
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From:
Melbourn Bros.
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
Fruit and Field Beer
ABV:
3.4%
Score:
84
Avg:
3.71 | pDev: 12.13%
Reviews:
85
Ratings:
94
Status:
Active
Rated:
Nov 23, 2015
Added:
May 12, 2002
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
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Rated: 4.14 by Uniobrew31 from Pennsylvania

Nov 23, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by KAF from Iowa

Jul 17, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by jlee185 from Missouri

Jan 17, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by jaydoc from Kansas

Dec 14, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by harpus from Alabama

Oct 15, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by Slatetank from Pennsylvania

May 23, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by matjack85 from Illinois

Jan 31, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by Hopheadjeffery from Illinois

Dec 21, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by andrewj17 from Ohio

Mar 02, 2012
Photo of LadyOfMuchBeer
Reviewed by LadyOfMuchBeer from Texas

3.98/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Found on shelves at Oak Hill liquor in Austin, hadn't seen it back home in Houston. 12oz bottle.

Appearance-Amber, cloudy, very carbonated. No head, just lacy traces around edge. Very appetizing.

Smell- Strawberry shortcake! reminds me of the filling you buy at the store to add to your berries when making shortcake/pie/cake with strawberries. The berries are all you can smell on this one.

Taste-very sweet. The berry flavor is a more natural one than the nose, as it tastes as if the strawberry is crushed right in! After searching found a bit of malt underneath. Simple in flavor, a tad sweet for my taste, but good in flavor itself.

Mouth-feel- Thin in body but prickly with the sweet flavor. it has a little pucker in it.

Overall-a good dessert beer, glad I tried it, but probably won't buy this one just to drink again. I would recommend it however. Much better than much of it's competition.
Aug 29, 2011
Photo of zdk9
Reviewed by zdk9 from Ohio

4.32/5  rDev +16.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A- A cloudy orange. Not much head or lacing but still a good looking beer even with out any foam.

S- This smells delicious. Cooked strawberries. It's like shortcake filling- real strawberries. It smells sweet but still good and fruity.

T- Real strawberries just like the smell. Some pale maltiness. This tastes like they really crushed strawberries into the liquid not some red dye #5 and artificial flavor.

M- Sweet but not overbearing or cloying. Nice carbonation

O- A really good beer. Not what I was expecting.
Feb 01, 2010
Photo of TeamSeabass
Reviewed by TeamSeabass from Florida

3.62/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours cloudy with a pinkish hue and bubbling with carbonation. It does have an orangish tone to it also.

Smells very fruity, like cherry or strawberry jam.

Tastes like a fruity version of champagne. You get some sour notes in there to offset some of the sweet. Where some fruits convert well to drink, strawberry might not be one of them. Its just more difficult to recognize. Its in there though.

Strong carbonation goes well with the sweet and sour notes.

I like this beer and the Melbourn Bros line. This is a very high quality beverage for this style.
Dec 21, 2008
Photo of pmcadamis
Reviewed by pmcadamis from Illinois

3.47/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
A - Dull cloudy purple with a nice finger of pink foam. Lots of really nice lace is left on the glass, making it look like a pink frosted window in winter.

S - Authentic fresh strawberries, tart fruit juice, strawberry jam, and a hint of strawberry candy...the kind that comes in a strawberry wrapper. The emphasis here is on the jammy strawberry jelly notes. Nice.

T - Again, tart and really jammy. This tastes exactly like strawberry preserves spread over white bread toast with even a hint of butter. Very nicely done.

M - Light bodied, tart, acidic, slightly sugary...but still relatively crisp.

D - A very good stab at fruit beer...which is pretty hard to get right IMO. This is sweeter and heavier than a lambic, but way more authentic and "real" than most American fruity-tootie beers marketed to young women.
Dec 01, 2008
Photo of Gueuzedude
Reviewed by Gueuzedude from Arizona

2.38/5  rDev -35.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
Foams up a bit out of the bottle when I pop the cap. This pours into my 25cl tulip glass with a frothy, pale, off-white colored head. The beer is a murky red color that shows a light amber color (makes me think of browned, oxidized strawberries) when held up to the light. The aroma is unmistakably that of strawberry and is noticeable as soon as I pop the cap. Not surprisingly nothing else is noticeable except for the strawberry notes; at least the strawberry notes actually smell like real strawberries (though notched up a few ratchets) as opposed to cheap extract.

Shockingly sweet at the first sip, this tastes like strawberry syrup. Thick feeling, but there is a fairly substantial carbonation that actually seems to struggle to become free of the syrupy morass as the beer flows across my tongue. As to the flavors, well all I can say is strawberry and sweet, nothing else particularly is noticeable, especially nothing that would suggest this is a beer, much less a Lambic.

Not really something I want to drink, again this is more like a strawberry soda than anything. Way too sweet and fruity for my tastes.

Purchased: Papago Brewing Co, Scottsdale AZ
Sep 05, 2008
Photo of nrbw23
Reviewed by nrbw23 from Ohio

2.11/5  rDev -43.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5
A- Pours a very interesting pinkish red color. Pretty much look likes a Red pop but still looks kind of cool.

S- Tons of strawberries.

T- I don't know what else to say other this one tastes like strawberries. I can't taste anything else.

M- Light in body and a ton of carbonation.

D- I think this one is more like a wine cooler or maybe even fruit juice than beer. Still looking for a fruit beer I'll like...the search continues.
Sep 04, 2008
Photo of schroe58
Reviewed by schroe58 from Ohio

4.11/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
A- dirty redish/orange color. looks very cloudy but no sediment. thin lacing lasts till end of drink

S- I bought this beer because i poured one for someone at work tonight, as soon as i opened the bottle the smell about knocked me over. the smell is actually why i purchased the beer, it was very intense and chalk full of strawberry...actually smells identical to a fruit roll-up.

T- Based upon the smell description you are either curious or disgusted, i was curious. Very very sweet, not as much as a lambic and also lacking the tartness of some lambicss and drinks such as red-bach, i think i could actually drink more than one of these without feeling sick. no alcohol taste at all, strawberry is def. the most notable flavor all the way through but it's light enough to prevent an overpowering taste. After taste is pretty quick to leave the scene. a good balance of something different.

M- Great carbonation, light viscosity, very pleasant light feel.

D- Very drinkable. As mentioned before, I could probably drink a few of these, which is impressive given it's level of fruit flavor and sweetness. I'm not one for fruity beers but I have to admit this thing is GOOD. I can see this as a regular in my rotation this summer, very refreshing. This beer really took me by surprise, i'd recommend that everyone at least try it. It's a unique drink and you may be surprise by how enjoyable it is, i know i was.
Apr 13, 2008
Photo of JDV
Reviewed by JDV from Texas

3.8/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Orange to reddish color that is slightly hazed with an offwhite head. Smell is big on tart and sweet strawberries with just the slightest hint of funky yeast. Taste is fairly sweet with a mild tartness to accompany. Finishes a bit syrupy with a slight malty flavor along with the sweet strawberry. Nice carbonation with slightly viscous syrupy body. A bit artificial tasting and slightly cloying, but enjoyable as a sweet soda-like beverage more so than what I typically expect from a beer.
Mar 20, 2008
Photo of Procrastinator
Reviewed by Procrastinator from Florida

3.7/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
12 oz. brown bottle poured into Sam Adams "pint" glass. My local store was closing these out for $1.89 a bottle. Bought one and tried it, before going back and purchasing four more. I've had the apricot years ago. This is my first Melbourn Strawberry.

Appearance: reddish tint to an otherwise deep orange and copper body with a slight chill haze. Head is slightly off-white. Carbonation is very active with bubbles dancing off the bottom of my glass. 1/8" head remains throughout beer with clingy lacing on glass sides.

Smell: sour fruitiness of strawberries, tart apples and even cherries. Caramel malty sweetness and a funky yeastiness.

Taste: sour, sweet and tart flavors of strawberries, raspberries, crisp apples and grapes are met by wheat and yeast. The finish has a slight hop bitterness that makes a quick retreat. Slightly metallic at finish, but doesn't detract from the beer.

Mouthfeel: puckering tartness awakens all the tastebuds in a fairly light body. Carbonation is lively and enhancing.

Drinkability: definitely a change of pace with the fruit flavors, but not one to drink more than one or two at any one session. Look forward to trying again in the future, but at the normal price of $5.25, I don't know how soon that will be.
Mar 19, 2008
Photo of clayrock81
Reviewed by clayrock81 from Florida

3.75/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Pours a reddish brown/copper color with a little bit of head that quickly dies and leaves little lacings. The smell is overly strawberries with a hint of tartness, but not much else. Now, certain beer people don't consider these worthy beverages, but I could relax with one of these all the time. A light body that goes down very smooth and the strawberry flavor is highly evident. Maybe it is me since I have a sweet tooth and I love strawberry milk, but I thought the taste was sweetlike and delicious. Some might call it a dessert beer or a fruit beer, but I love it. Too bad they sell this stuff for almost $7 a bottle - overpriced.
Feb 27, 2008
Photo of peabody
Reviewed by peabody from Kentucky

3.2/5  rDev -13.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Pours out kinda flat with a reddish root beer color.
Not much head and no lacing here.
Smell is all Strawberry. Not much else except for lots of sugar.
Taste is strawberry with lots of sugar. Way too sweet but still not bad.
Mouthfeel is very clean with such a sugary taste.
All in all, a pretty good beer but way too sweet.
Feb 03, 2008
Melbourn Bros. Strawberry from Melbourn Bros.
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 94 ratings