Raspberry Fool
The Caledonian Brewing Company

The brew is hazy light amber, has an off-white small head with little lacing and small curtains.

Smelling of raspberries and grass.

The taste starts with bread and honey, then raspberry jam with the seeds crushed.

Little carbonation, a fresh texture, medium body and a dry acid finish.

A good medium alcohol brew, sessionable. Gravity cask at The Bree Louise.

Looks like a typical bitter, amber orange and clear, but with a plummy tint - from the raspberries? I like to think so. The head on top is bone white, thin and patchy yet stalwart. The smell is overpoweringly of raspberry sorbet. Sweet, sweet, raspberries without much tartness, and there actually is a biscuity/pie crust-like buttery malt note to it that actually does make it smell a bit like the dessert it's named after. Raspberries flood the palate, leaving in their wake a somewhat incongruous foundation of savory, bready, wheaty malts and leafy/citric hops. An undercurrent of orange helps to bridge the fruit beer-bitter gap, and light but sprightly carbonation adds an appropriate matte finish to a somewhat out-of-focus ale. Good stuff, but a bit odd. It might be better with a different grain bill, and different hops.

This is the Caledonian Brewery's April beer. I had a pint at the Market Porter near the Borough Market and London Bridge. While I'm sure Fruli-lovers would dig this beer, if you're not a fruit beer drinker, avoid this. The flavor is a simple mix of big candy raspberry flavor (like a raspberry sucker) with mellow dark bread malt. Drinkable, like most 4.0% beers, but very fruity.