Heavy Melon
New Belgium Brewing Company


- From:
- New Belgium Brewing Company
- Colorado, United States
- Style:
- Fruit and Field Beer
Ranked #495 - ABV:
- 5%
- Score:
- 78
Ranked #37,713 - Avg:
- 3.25 | pDev: 21.54%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 13
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Jul 02, 2022
- Added:
- May 16, 2021
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 5
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by LightsOut3000:
Reviewed by LightsOut3000 from Georgia
5/5 rDev +53.8%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
5/5 rDev +53.8%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Love this beer, love the watermelon flavor.. it’s a smooth and juicy ale that has a lot of nostalgia for me. A best friend and I used to work together and we’d take a lunch break at his nearby apartment on occasion. We’d cut slices of watermelon to eat as a snack and drink a couple of these while playing Rocket League together on PlayStation. That was about 4 years ago, he moved across the country and I’m fairly certain that New Belgium stopped making this brew for a few years. It was all just a cool memory until I was walking thru the beer aisle of my local Kroger last night and saw it in a sampler 12 pack! I was pleasantly surprised, I sent a pic and text to my buddy when I got them home and enjoyed one for the both of us!
Aug 19, 2021More User Ratings:
Reviewed by chum_husk from Minnesota
3.35/5 rDev +3.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
3.35/5 rDev +3.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
12oz can
Looks unimpressive; pink colored with not much head, slightly cloudy. Smells like a watermelon Slurpee. Has a slight ale flavor and body, but mostly tastes like a watermelon Jolly Rancher. Leaves a sour aftertaste mixed with sweet malt, weird... It doesn't taste 'bad'
At only 5% there's not much reason to drink this. Tastes better than your average 10% watermelon flavored hobo swill, but still.... why....?
Sep 21, 2021Looks unimpressive; pink colored with not much head, slightly cloudy. Smells like a watermelon Slurpee. Has a slight ale flavor and body, but mostly tastes like a watermelon Jolly Rancher. Leaves a sour aftertaste mixed with sweet malt, weird... It doesn't taste 'bad'
At only 5% there's not much reason to drink this. Tastes better than your average 10% watermelon flavored hobo swill, but still.... why....?
Reviewed by TheOccasionalBeer from Wisconsin
4.28/5 rDev +31.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.28/5 rDev +31.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Cloudy watermelon juice color fills the glass, and a white, large-bubbled foamy head forms and sticks around. The first scent out of the bottle smelled more like ripe cantaloupe mixed with sour apple candy. The flavor is definitely closer to watermelon, and the scent in an open glass pivots more in that direction. It is dry, not too sweet, and pretty smooth with a little carbonation on the top of my mouth. There is a slight and subtle funky flavor/scent of overripe fruit, but I'll overlook it. Better than I was expecting, a lot better.
Sep 12, 2021Rated by Danzifer from Ohio
3.24/5 rDev -0.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25
3.24/5 rDev -0.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25
A melon beer that actually tastes like melon.
Aug 15, 2021Reviewed by spectru from Florida
3.1/5 rDev -4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
3.1/5 rDev -4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
August 5, 2021 - Orange, kinda watermelon color, slightly hazy, white head recedes quickly; not much smell; Mouthfeel is a little watery, mild carbonation; Flavor is unusual, fruity perhaps, not strong, Ill give it points for character but I don't really like the flavor; A moderately distinctive, unusual, robust flavor, but not particularly pleasing.
Aug 06, 2021Reviewed by puboflyons from New Hampshire
2.31/5 rDev -28.9%
look: 1.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.25
2.31/5 rDev -28.9%
look: 1.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.25
From a 12 oz. can with a best by date of 26 Dec 2021. Sampled July 30, 2021
The color is a kind of pink crimson with a fizzy head that disappears in seconds. No lacing.
The aroma expresses watermelon right away as to be expected considering that is the title of the beer. But I get little else. Maybe a little bread. Maybe some fruity hops but that might just be the watermelon.
Light body.
The taste is watermelon, fruity, but a fairly crisp finish. I really did not like it much. I poured most of it away and I'm stuck with a couple more cans from the mixed 12-pack.
Jul 31, 2021The color is a kind of pink crimson with a fizzy head that disappears in seconds. No lacing.
The aroma expresses watermelon right away as to be expected considering that is the title of the beer. But I get little else. Maybe a little bread. Maybe some fruity hops but that might just be the watermelon.
Light body.
The taste is watermelon, fruity, but a fairly crisp finish. I really did not like it much. I poured most of it away and I'm stuck with a couple more cans from the mixed 12-pack.
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Texas
2.59/5 rDev -20.3%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
2.59/5 rDev -20.3%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
A New Belgium watermelon ale?
Sorry lads, she tastes just as artificial as that description makes her sound. Canned watermelon puree comes to mind, but with a lychee-like syrupy vibe to it.
Mike's Hard Watermelon, anybody?
C- / BELOW AVERAGE
Jul 28, 2021Sorry lads, she tastes just as artificial as that description makes her sound. Canned watermelon puree comes to mind, but with a lychee-like syrupy vibe to it.
Mike's Hard Watermelon, anybody?
C- / BELOW AVERAGE
Reviewed by Mugman8 from New York
3.08/5 rDev -5.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
3.08/5 rDev -5.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Another lousy beer in my New Belgium summer variety pack....three losers and one decent Voodoo Ranger. Not exactly the way to build customer loyalty. This is watermelon seltzer....
Jul 18, 2021Reviewed by ChainGangGuy from Georgia
3.87/5 rDev +19.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
3.87/5 rDev +19.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Appearance: Pours a lightly reddish-pink body with a medium-sized, white (with just a touch of pink) head.
Smell: Watermelon and a squirt of lime juice, a bit sweetish, a bit tart-scented.
Taste: Honeydew, watermelon and lime. Reasonably sweetish with a fine degree of tartness. Rather modest pale maltiness underneath but enough to keep it from feeling entirely devoid of substance.
Mouthfeel: Medium-light body. Medium carbonation but with a bit of zip to it.
Overall: A few pangs of Jolly Rancher, though it's not really all that unnatural feeling. It's just a simple, summertime refresher.
Jul 05, 2021Smell: Watermelon and a squirt of lime juice, a bit sweetish, a bit tart-scented.
Taste: Honeydew, watermelon and lime. Reasonably sweetish with a fine degree of tartness. Rather modest pale maltiness underneath but enough to keep it from feeling entirely devoid of substance.
Mouthfeel: Medium-light body. Medium carbonation but with a bit of zip to it.
Overall: A few pangs of Jolly Rancher, though it's not really all that unnatural feeling. It's just a simple, summertime refresher.
Reviewed by Lazy_Genius from Florida
1.64/5 rDev -49.5%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5
1.64/5 rDev -49.5%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5
TL;DR IMHO New Belgium would do well to never brew this again. It's the disappointment of the variety pack. Maybe it's just not my thing. It might pass as a lambic, but New Belgium calls it an ale.
The beer pours with a red-amber color. The head is good. The lacing is nice, but it breaks and falls quickly. The beer smells of yeast and sour/rotten watermelon. The mouthfeel is bubbly and watery. The flavor has strong notes of over-fermented bread dough, yeast, and watermelon Jolly Rancher. No hops to mention. Finally, the finish is unmemorable. I really enjoy New Belgium's other beers, but this one competes for the worst on my list. Cheers!
Jul 03, 2021The beer pours with a red-amber color. The head is good. The lacing is nice, but it breaks and falls quickly. The beer smells of yeast and sour/rotten watermelon. The mouthfeel is bubbly and watery. The flavor has strong notes of over-fermented bread dough, yeast, and watermelon Jolly Rancher. No hops to mention. Finally, the finish is unmemorable. I really enjoy New Belgium's other beers, but this one competes for the worst on my list. Cheers!
Reviewed by Darkmagus82 from Texas
3.1/5 rDev -4.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.25
3.1/5 rDev -4.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.25
Poured from a bottle into a pint glass
Appearance – The beer pours a light pinkish rose color with a one finger head of pink tinted foam. The head has a good level of retention, fading slowly over time to leave a light level of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma of the brew is strong of a whet smell mixed with aroma of watermelon and must. Along with these aromas comes notes of cantaloupe, candied sugar, and melon rind as well as a touch of hay and grain.
Taste – The taste begins with a cracker malt taste that has a watermelon and lime flavor. Upfront there are also some flavors of hay which grow stronger as the taste advances. At the same time the sweetness from the watermelon grows a bit weaker as the taste advances. At the same time some musty tastes as well as a watermelon rind and seed taste come to the tongue. With a tiny bit of herb and the rest of flavor transitions that occur, one is left with a somewhat musty watermelon rind like taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is light and crisp with a carbonation level that is on the lower side. For the fruit and summer style of the brew the feel is great and makes for an easy sipper.
Overall – Not really my fav. Not awful, but nothing to search out.
Jul 03, 2021Appearance – The beer pours a light pinkish rose color with a one finger head of pink tinted foam. The head has a good level of retention, fading slowly over time to leave a light level of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma of the brew is strong of a whet smell mixed with aroma of watermelon and must. Along with these aromas comes notes of cantaloupe, candied sugar, and melon rind as well as a touch of hay and grain.
Taste – The taste begins with a cracker malt taste that has a watermelon and lime flavor. Upfront there are also some flavors of hay which grow stronger as the taste advances. At the same time the sweetness from the watermelon grows a bit weaker as the taste advances. At the same time some musty tastes as well as a watermelon rind and seed taste come to the tongue. With a tiny bit of herb and the rest of flavor transitions that occur, one is left with a somewhat musty watermelon rind like taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is light and crisp with a carbonation level that is on the lower side. For the fruit and summer style of the brew the feel is great and makes for an easy sipper.
Overall – Not really my fav. Not awful, but nothing to search out.
We love reviews (150 characters or more)! Check out: How to Review a Beer. You don't need to get fancy. Drop some thoughts on the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) plus your overall impression. Something that backs up your rating and helps others. Thanks!