Strawberry Ale
Covington Brewhouse

3.81/5  rDev +17.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Super refreshing. Great warm weather beer. Great nose full of real strawberry smell. Taste is reminiscent of strawberry shortcake, without being cloying or overwhelming. . Clean light lager finish. Very crushable.

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4.62/5  rDev +42.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

I don't usually like fruit beers. I tried this one on tap at Dat Cajun Place in Panama City Beach, just down the road from my house. The color is hazy gold, the head is frothy white, and the smell is VERY strawberry. You expect cloying sweetness, but are surprised at a refreshing, well balanced, and light thirst quencher. The strawberry flavor is mostly in the nose, leaving a nice bubbly light beer flavor. Really good finish with minimal aftertaste. Good stuff!

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5/5  rDev +53.8%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Appearance: hazy, golden-straw color with a frothy, white head that retains well and leaves some lacing.

Aroma: strawberry. Exactly like the Abita version.

Taste: strawberries, but without the sweetness. Very creamy, and also some bread.

Mouthfeel: very fluffy. Carbonated.

Finish: wet.

An excellent, delicious beer.

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2.48/5  rDev -23.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.5

Kind of different from a normal fruit beer. From my home town so thought i'd try it when a friend bought it. Not bad but I wouldn't buy it again, maybe something else from this brewery though. Seems like a Strawberry Ale would be hard to pull off well.

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3.5/5  rDev +7.7%

Covington Strawberry Ale
12 oz. brown glass bottle

Fairly average fruit beer, although I have to say it's hard to get strawberry flavor out of puree so if that's all they're using they've done an excellent job. It's got enough fruit to it to keep the ladies happy, but not so much that a gent can't enjoy one as well. Haziness, I think, can be ignored as they're using real fruit. The aroma is pleasant, and displays both the strawberry and the sweetish malt, which is also true of the flavor. Where I find it goes slightly off is that the malt is slightly sweet, but more importantly, almost a little candyish. If you drink it cold you won't notice it, but when it warms it reminds me of cotton candy. On the other hand I don't think you want to increase the bitterness. Perhaps a slight bit of tartness might, or a more thorough fermentation. Regardless, it's a fairly enjoyable and drinkable fruit beer.

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3.36/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Covington Brewhouse Strawberry Ale has a thin, fizzy white head and a hazy, yellow-golden appearance, with juice pulp present throughout. Lacing is thin. There are lots of little, tight bubble streams with this one. Aroma is of bready, strawberry juice, and the flavor is the same, with a sugar background and a citrus acidity. No bitterness is detected. The mouthfeel is medium to heavy, and Covington Brewhouse Strawberry Ale finishes mostly dry, somewhat crisp, sweet, and fairly refreshing. Overall, for a fruit beer, it’s very good.

RJT

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4.32/5  rDev +32.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Upon opening this beer, I got a definite aroma of strawberries and cream. When I saw that it was a cream ale with strawberry puree added, I thought "brilliant!". Nose is right on. Reminds me a lot of another Louisiana brewer's rendition (Abita).

Now the taste. The flavor definitely has a creamy, strawberry taste to it...again, the strawberries and cream flavor that I found on the nose. However, here's the difference...there's a nice, snappy tartness on the finish that ends the beer different than their fellow LA brewer does. Quite frankly, I like it. It should please people who don't want a fruit beer that's nothing but sweetness. It hits you with a nice fruity sweetness upfront and goes sour. Drinkable. Tasty. I'm enjoying every sip.

Fruit beers can be awful or great. That sounds obvious to say but this is a style characterized by a lot of beers on both sides. This is on the latter. Recommended!

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3.45/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours reddish golden into SA perfect pint. Lots of sediment in bottom of bottle. Head dissipates quickly.

Smell has a sour character to it; much like a lambic. There is a definite aroma of strawberries.

Taste is also very sour. Not as much strawberry as I was expecting. Hints of it come through in the aftertaste. Mild malt flavors and no bitterness.

Mouthfeel is light and crisp. Good carbonation.

Overall this was good. Nice summer brew. Very refreshing but not one I would buy often.

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3.25/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a pint glass. Pours cloudy reddish yellow with a minimal white head that dissipates quickly, leaving no lacing. I can see plenty of particulate matter in the glass. The aroma is dominated by sweet strawberries and not much else. It doesn't leave much to the imagination. Strawberry dominates the flavor, but it is balanced by the light breadiness from the malt. It is also a little watery and it is definitely clean. I don't really catch the hops. The body is medium with adequate carbonation. It is smooth and refreshing. Overall, this is a good beer. If you like fruity beer, you would probably like this.

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3.45/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from tap into pint at Cotton in Monroe, LA. Pours a hazy straw golden with a good amount of head and lacing. Smells of wheaty sweet strawberry and a bit of belgian yeast aromas. Taste is very wheaty and full of strawberry flavors, not too artificial but slightly fake. Its a bit macro lager tasting as well but well balanced. overall a refreshing decent brew.

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3.53/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a bottle into a mason jar (I didn't have access to a pint glass).

Look - light tan/orange color, hazy, with about two fingers' worth of a foam that dissipates slowly.

Smell - a little musky, but otherwise fruity and sweet smelling.

Taste - like the smell, it's a bit musky, but with a naturally fruity, but faux-tasting fruity taste.

Mouthfeel - pretty well-balanced, leaning just a tinsy bit more on the creamy side, like a cream soda.

Overall - not a bad brew for it's type.

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3.68/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 2 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Optimator13 sent a couple bottles of these a few weeks ago (at my request). Today is the second of the two, a 12 oz. undated bottle, poured to a pint glass on a perfectly gorgeous 72-degree Portland afternoon. Springtime doesn't get any better.

As the label states: "As Welcome As Springtime". And how!

A: Golden and misty. No make that 'chunky'. It's silty, but there's LOTS of suspended sediment. Sure it's been a few weeks since I received this, but it's been in the refrigerator (never agitated) ever since. Looks like a snow globe. Good head tho', a foam and fizzing finger of whiteness.

S: What a sweet floral/fruity aroma! Nails the essence of 'strawberry'. Don't know what else it offers, but that ripe berry is enough. A scone or tart, straight from the bakery, a little doughy. A "scratch 'n sniff" sweetness, maybe even "kids breakfast cereal", but neither of those kept me from inhaling often.

T: A lightly sweetened 'strawberry' coats a light wheaty malt base. That 'cereal' quality comes off a bit like 'crunchberries' or 'fruity pebbles', but -oddly- I like it quite a bit. Just enough tart/tang to give some balance. I'm convinced that my liking this beer as much as I do is due, in part, to the gorgeous spring weather. If so, so be it... I wish a 72-degree day of sunshine on anyone drinking this rather tasty fruit-forward beer.

M: Light and refreshing, leans toward 'thin'. Not much carbonation in the mouth (maybe a little long in the bottle?), a fine silty/grainy texture. Some lingering, lip-smacking sweetness.

O: If we're judging on 'would I drink this all the time?', then 'meh, maybe not.' But judging just on 'is this a good fruit beer?, yes, it is. I'm kind of a sucker for strawberries and this innocuous little beer does the trick... and takes me back to living in Louisiana as a kid and the great, juicy strawberries you'd get at harvesttime. Worth drinking.

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3.15/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

pours a light gold color that had a little bit of haze to it. Poured into a pint glass and had a small head

As expected, strawberry dominated, but lacking depth along with some aromas of grains and a bit of malts as well

Medium bodied with a decent feel. The finish and mid is a bit clipped along with flavors of strawberries and grains

A easy drinking and nice beer. Nothing all to memorable, but solid enough

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3.19/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Appearence: Hazy it looks very much like carbonated apple cider.

Smell: Strawberry jam with a bit of malt in the background, I feel as if i should get out the peanut butter and make a sandwich.

Taste: Very malty, but not quite syrupy sweet, definitely taste strawberrys.

Mouthfeel: Light but slightly creamy mouthfeel from the malt, somewhat refreshing, good to clean the palate.

Overall: Theres dessert wines maybe this is a dessert beer, it certainly does give one the impression of strawberrys though its certainly bit more beer like then some of the alcoholic candy fruit punch things you might find in the beer isle.

Not exactly the beer drinkers common choice but it has its place, I imagine somewhere like an early summer party with this beer.

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2.5/5  rDev -23.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

12 oz. bottle tried 25 Oct 2011. Served in the Ommegang BPA pint glass.

Strawberries hit my nose as soon as the bottle is opened. Small white head. Well carbonated. Hazy golden wheat in color. Aroma is of overripe strawberries and buttery short bread. As strong as the aroma is, the flavor is washed out. Tastes faintly of overripe strawberry syrup. Vanilla extract. Becomes bready in the finish. Medium body, light ethanol.

Would not get this one again, hard to finish. A liked it a lot more than I did for some reason.

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3.25/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a tumbler.

A: Pours a light, and very cloudy, hay to golden hue. Heavy carbonation, pours a slight, bubbly white head which quickly dissipates. Very mucky look, and some little floaties can be seen milling about in there, eventually settling as a sediment at the bottom of the glass. No lacing.

S: Fresh strawberry preserves, with just a pungent hint of grain.

T: A bit of strawberry, but not really sweet, on sourdough bread.

M: Light body, and really refreshing quality. Has a certain pungency that kind of infiltrates and floats around the palette.

D: Again, very refreshing, goes down very easy. You can pound this thing down in true session style.

Atmosphere is okay. Muddy hue, heavy carbonation leaves not much of a head, and no lacing to speak of. Nose is mostly characterized by a strong aroma of strawberry preserves, but with a little grain. Flavor has a strawberry tone, but not sweet as the nose gives off, with a bit of pungent grain. Overall, this is a pretty good quaff.

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4.17/5  rDev +28.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bought a fresh sixer this past week. 12 oz bottle pours a hazed gold color with a light pinkish tinge. Head is thin and white, not much lacing.

Nose is tart, unsweetened strawberries and sharp graininess. Makes for a nice contrast and very natural. No sweet, artificial strawberry aroma here.

Taste is a very nice grainy backdrop for the tart fruit. If you are looking for a sweet, strawberry-flavored brew, look elsewhere as this will surely disappoint. But if you want real, tart strawberries against a grainy, blonde ale backdrop, this is quite a nice and refreshing beer. The tartness would make an excellent base beer for a sour ale, if Henryk were ever to venture down that road. I enjoy Heiner-Brau beers and this shows some similar traits, the rich mouthfeel and heavy graininess. I know Abita brews a strawberry lager, this compliments rather than competes with it in my opinion. Both are drastically different beers and I love them both. I pick up multiple sixers a year of the Abita Strawberry Harvest, and I will certainly buy this again as well. A very tasty thirst quencher that has a tartness that sour-beer lovers can appreciate and enjoy.

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2.22/5  rDev -31.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 2.5

Tried this beer on tap and it was poured in a pint glass. It poured a dirty wheat beer color with a small creamy head. It smelled like strawberry yogurt, yeast. it tasted like strawberry flavored yogurt, yeast, wheat and stomach acid from me almost throwing it up. This beer is an awful fruit beer, absolutely no balance, no beer taste, It felt like drinking a non-alcoholic strawberry milkshake.

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2.75/5  rDev -15.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a hazy, very light yellow - like a diet wheat beer or something. The nose is only strawberry, like if you sniffed some strawberry flavored sparkling water or something. Actually, better than expected. Tastes like an even up mix of a light beer and some strawberry sparkling water. I oddly get that same feeling of over carbonation as a do with that stuff. There is almost no beer flavor in here, but also, very little of anything else as well. Mouthfeel is big carbonation, and a weird sweetness that sticks to the tongue despite not really coming through in the taste of the beer. Overall, this is a fantastic alcohol substitute for flavor sparkling water - so much so that I wonder if someone would know if it was in their can of sparkling water. Ah well, I'm dwelling on that comparison. Difficult to rate, but I'll just say that I didn't find it offensive, but it wasnt so good either.

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3.86/5  rDev +18.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

This is the best beer I've had so far from Covington Brewhouse/Heiner Brau. I've had the Abita Stawberry and this is better, in my opinion.

A: Beautiful, golden/pink color. This looks like a beautiful light cream ale, with a lot of strawberry puree or extract in it.

S: Smells strongly of strawberries and malt. From the smell, you can tell that this beer is going to be sweet, but not overpoweringly so.

T: Again, malt and strawberries. This beer has a HUGE strawberry presence, much more so than the Abita. Just the right amount of sweetness in a fruit beer. This would make a delicious desert or would pair well with a light meal.

D: Very drinkable, although it is carbonated a little to much for my taste. It's really malty, which probably makes it seem so highly carbonated. It's not "Miller High Life" heavily-carbonated, but pretty close. The carbonation and sweetness would probably prevent this from being a session beer. I highly enjoy one of these for desert or with a meal, but it isn't a beer I would want to drink a whole lot of in a short period of time.

Overall: Best strawberry beer, and probably the best fruit beer, that I've had thus far. I normally don't like Heiner-Brau's brews, even though their brewery is only a stone's throw away. This one, however, is excellent. This is the epitome of a strawberry beer, in my opinion.

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4.1/5  rDev +26.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Had on tap at Avenue Pub

Appearance: moderate carbonation, 1 inch head, gold in color, clear

Smell: strawberries and honey

Taste: This tastes like strawberry shortcake in a malty beer

Mouthfeel: very sweet, medium-high carbonation throughout, light body

Drinkability: This is probably the most strawberry a beer I have had. It makes for a great dessert beer. Sessionable if you like sweet beers like me, otherwise a pass. This maintains enough of the beer taste to not think you are drinking a wine cooler.

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3.23/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

On Tap at Friends restaurant in Madisonville la
Pours a hazy copper with pinkish tones in it.
Smells of strawberries and sweetness
Taste like fresh strawberries, light on malt
Mouthfeel is clean and crisp, high carbonation, refreshing
Overall pretty good, this one competes with abita strawberry harvest. A refreshing beer on a hot Louisiana day.

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3.36/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pale gold in color with a touch of pinkishness, hazy opaque for the most part, with a bright white pillowy head. Lace is alright.

Aroma is nice and fruity, fresh strawberries, light sweetness. The smell is enticing.

Taste is mostly just some strawberry sweetness, a hint of tart, and a touch of malts.

Feel has a light slickness about it, it's crisp, clean and light in body.

It's refreshing, and easy to drink, and as far as fruit beers go, something worth keeping around on occasion.

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