Raspberry Ale
Dark Horse Brewing Company

Raspberry AleRaspberry Ale
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From:
Dark Horse Brewing Company
 
Michigan, United States
Style:
Fruit and Field Beer
ABV:
5.5%
Score:
77
Avg:
3.36 | pDev: 14.88%
Reviews:
248
Ratings:
740
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 04, 2022
Added:
Aug 05, 2003
Wants:
  17
Gots:
  98
This beer is a light bodied, easy drinking ale. We use real raspberries late in fermentation, giving this beer a mild fruit flavor while keeping a very balanced malt profile. This may not be what some would expect from a "fruit" beer, but our brewers make good beer; not fruity, carbonated malt beverages. Our motto is, "beer first, fruit second".
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by BuckeyeNation:
Photo of BuckeyeNation
Reviewed by BuckeyeNation from Iowa

3.42/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
"She wore a
Raspberry beret
The kind u find in a second hand store
Raspberry beret
And if it was warm she wouldn't wear much more"

--Prince Rogers Nelson


Bright pumpkin orange that I swear has a faint reddish blush. The color of the beer is great, but the head is lousy. It's beige in color and has the consistency and lack of persistence of the most adjunct-riddled macro lager. Actually, most of them look better than this these days. It's already down to less than one finger and has left the glass as clean as a whistle.

There are no surprises in the nose, in either direction. The beer smells like a garden-variety amber ale with a less than overwhelming amount of natural raspberry added. I like the fact that it smells like fruit rather than extract and that it doesn't remind me of an alcopop. My expectation meter has just been reset to 'don't get your hopes up'.

It's a good thing my hopes weren't up because Raspberry Ale is merely okay beer. It's a straightforward version that shows a surprising lack of creativity from a brewery that I thought was full of it. Any number of regional craft brewers could produce a fruit beer to equal this one. Just add a few bucketfuls of berries to your most neutral beer and... voila.

Despite the fact that bees are drawn on the label ('because they just look cool'), no honey was used. I could have come to that conclusion on my own because sweetness is hard to come by. DHRA is primarily bitter without being overly so. I think more raspberry flavor might have helped, but this really isn't such bad beer in the end. The above taste score is a shaky one though.

The mouthfeel is light to light-medium and doesn't hold up as well as it should all the way to and through the swallow. I'm not surprised that the bubbles don't last until the finish since they did such a shoddy job with the creation and maintenance of a decent looking head.

As far as I'm concerned, Dark Horse needs to retool Raspberry Ale. Who knows, maybe they sell boatloads of it to those who are frightened off by anything that isn't light and fruity and easy to drink. It's all of those things, but I require more than that. I suspect that most BAs do too.
Apr 29, 2007
More User Ratings:
Photo of BBThunderbolt
Reviewed by BBThunderbolt from Kiribati

3.25/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Thanks to Whyteboar for this one, from a recent LIF. 12oz can (no date) poured into 14oz teku. Poured a slightly muddy reddish light brown color with an inch of off-white head that quickly dissipated and left only traces of lacing.

The aroma had a solid raspberry burst at the front of the nose, with just a light bit of grain in the background. Pretty much the same on the tongue; a light malt base, with the berries coating all of the palate, and lingering on the finish.

The body was light medium, mostly smooth (some coarseness from the tartness of the berries), and had a medium finish that dried out after a moment. Drinkability was very good, I could see this being a nice summer quaff. Overall, a nice enough brew. Worth a shot if you see it.
Feb 04, 2022
 
Rated: 3.11 by Jcreek from Illinois

Oct 17, 2021
 
Rated: 3.74 by jchanley from Illinois

Oct 17, 2021
Photo of Jule17
Rated by Jule17 from Ohio

3.25/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3
It is an okay raspberry beer
Jun 25, 2021
Photo of dd53grif
Reviewed by dd53grif from Michigan

3.46/5  rDev +3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Pours a light red color with a minimal head that disappears quickly. Aroma is sweet raspberry. Tastes of raspberries. Crisp and dry with a slightly bitter finish.
May 21, 2021
 
Rated: 3.81 by Hefsbeercaps from Ohio

Feb 21, 2021
Photo of jkh15
Rated by jkh15 from Michigan

3.92/5  rDev +16.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Really mild smell. Nice and foamy when poured but not fizzy. Light refreshing taste that just teases you with the raspberry. Top notch.
Feb 21, 2021
 
Rated: 3.47 by Jonnybgood from Massachusetts

Feb 06, 2021
 
Rated: 3.73 by j0hnc2468 from New York

Oct 24, 2020
Photo of tone77
Reviewed by tone77 from Pennsylvania

3.59/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
This is rare, a bottle, from the captain of the canquest, woodychandler. Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a cloudy, dark golden/copper color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is full of tart raspberries. Taste is raspberries, slightly tart, much sweeter than the aroma indicated. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a decent beer.
Jun 25, 2020
 
Rated: 4 by rare_bird from Michigan

Dec 02, 2019
Photo of GuyFawkes
Reviewed by GuyFawkes from Illinois

3/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Bottled 5/29/14; drank 8/2/14 @ the Yarchives.

Semi-opaque light orange hue.

HUGE bright white head; strong lace.

Wheat & sweet raspberry nose.

Thin mouthfeel.

Honey, raspberry & wheat flavors...all very mild. A macro lager finish.

Drinkable but boring.
Aug 14, 2019
 
Rated: 2.96 by bcsbeer from Florida

Jul 15, 2019
 
Rated: 3.56 by tylerjin from Michigan

Mar 07, 2019
Photo of damndirtyape
Reviewed by damndirtyape from Ohio

3.77/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
12oz bottle, no date, service in a tulip stout glass. No date.

Appearance: Slightly cloudy pale amber to gold color, with a 1/8" thick white head. Plenty of persistent sheets and strands of lacing.

Smell: Raspberry mostly. Not getting much else.

Taste: A bit of raspberry tartness up front, along with some bready malt, and berry, raspberry flavors at the finish. Tart/lightly bitter finish.

Mouthfeel: Well carbonated - not fizzy, but brisk. Scrubs the palate clean. A bit of a dry finish, but some stickiness on the teeth. A little thin under the carbonation.

Overall / Drinkability: Definitely a beer that is true to its label - it's a raspberry ale. It's not trying to be anything else but that. Okay - not an amazing beer from a depth of flavor, but tasty enough. Seems like it would be good to have with the right dessert. Pairs okay with a chocolate brownie - and I think it would work with other desserts as well. Pretty well crafted for what it is. I did only want one though - one 12oz bottle with a dessert is sufficient.
Feb 15, 2019
 
Rated: 3.1 by ravger from Illinois

Jan 26, 2019
 
Rated: 3.53 by flgimp from Pennsylvania

Jan 16, 2019
Photo of EMV
Reviewed by EMV from Pennsylvania

3.33/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a Dogfish Head tulip

L: Clear amber pour with 2 fingers of fizzy white head. Decent lacing.

S: Light raspberry... fruit and grains/wheat.

T/F: Just like it smells. Raspberry and some fruit sweetness up front. After that it's cereal grains/wheat.. no real tartness. A little bit of caramel. Light bodied and well carbonated.

O: A pretty nondescript beer. Easy drinking... nothing special.
Jan 12, 2019
Photo of JimboBrews54
Reviewed by JimboBrews54 from Michigan

5/5  rDev +48.8%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Hazy golden-peach with white head. Sweetish aroma with lots of raspberry, lollipop, syrupy. The flavor is mild sweet and mild bitter, notes of raspberry, green leaves and citrus peels. Medium-bodied.
Dec 22, 2018
Raspberry Ale from Dark Horse Brewing Company
Beer rating: 77 out of 100 with 740 ratings