Fruit Beam
West Sixth Brewing Company

 

 

its pretty amazing what happens when you add fruit to an IPA. The fruit obviously intensifies and shifts the focus toward additions and downplays the natural fruitiness from yeast or hops. The balance trends malt-centric and a tanginess acts as much of an offset to sweetness as the does the bitterness from hops. West Sixth's raspberry and blackberry infused New England styled IPA does precisely this, and more...

Ruby, mauve and a ruddy purple hue provides a matte finish on the glass with the reinforcement of strong haze. As a frothy pinkish froth glides gently above, the scent of dark berries carry the nose. Succulent, vine ripe and tantalizing, the generous fruits add the milder nuances of citrus, pepper and herb from the underlying beer.

As the sweetness begins to lighten, the middle palate slowly prefers the taste of IPA over that of the fruit, but until the middle palate expires, the fruit flavors are juicy and smoothie-like with blackberry, raspberry, currant and plum. Grapefruit, orange, mango, apricot and guava shine a light on the beer's normal fruitiness and its bitterness is shy, smooth and carries a moderate pine spice into a tangy and bitter late palate.

Medium bodied and trending tart, the interplay of fruit acids and hop bitterness allows for a balanced and fruity finish that never really pushes the beer into any IPA status. Fruit pectins provide a wine-like spice while the echoes of fruit seem sangria-like, albeit a bitter one into a medium length finish.