Five Freds' Grapefruit Shandy
Hoppin' Frog Brewery

 

Creamy bright yellow, nearly identical to Turbo, maybe a shade darker, giving no hint of the grapefruit in appearance.

Grapefruit steals the show from the lemon in a big way. The grapefruit is no joke and it runs the gamut from rind, to juice, to almost peppery, to almost confusing the hop head in me with that big, bitter bite in an otherwise sweet refreshing summer shandy. It does so in both the aroma and flavors from start to finish.

It goes without saying, you really need to not hate grapefruit in order to enjoy this beer. Unlike lemon, grapefruit can be a divisive flavor. But if you're just okay with grapefruit, this might win you over, because the base beer is still well done enough to make it very drinkable. The grapefruit in this beer is so powerful, though, that if you blend only a tiny pour of this in with a full pour of a strong IPA, the IPA will take on a completely new flavor and aroma profile.

22 ounce bottle into tulip glass, no bottle dating. Pours lightly hazy pale golden/straw color with a 1-2 finger dense white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings on the glass, with some light streaming carbonation. Aromas of big lightly tart lemonade, lime, grapefruit, tangerine, wheat, cracker, bread, and light herbal. Damn nice aromas with great balance of grapefruit, citrus soda, and light-moderate pale malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big lightly tart lemonade, lime, grapefruit, tangerine, wheat, cracker, bread, and light herbal. Minimal hop bitterness and light tangy fruit/soda tartness on the finish; with lingering notes of lemonade, lime, grapefruit, tangerine, wheat, cracker, bread, and light herbal on the finish for a good bit. Great robustness and balance of grapefruit, citrus soda, and light-moderate pale malt flavors; with a great malt/tartness balance, and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Moderate dryness from fruit/soda tartness. Medium carbonation and light-medium body; with a very smooth, crisp, and lightly acidic/grainy balanced mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol for 8%. Overall this is a great imperial shandy style! All around great robustness and balance of grapefruit, citrus soda, and light-moderate pale malt flavors; very smooth, crisp, and refreshing to drink for the sizable ABV. Very bright on citrus flavors with solid malt presence. Spot on for the style despite being an imperial version. A really delicious offering.