Fruitlands - Mai Tai Edition
Modern Times Beer

 

 

 

 

 

 

Type: 19.2-oz. can
Reviewed as: Gose
Glass: Modern Times 16-oz. Willi Becher glass
Price: $4.49
From: Trader Joe’s in La Mesa, Calif.
Purchased: July 24, 2020
Consumed: July 25, 2020
Misc.: Canned on April 28, 2020

Waited way too long to grab one of these, finally pulling the trigger on a recent trip to Trader Joe’s. This would be my sixth variant of Fruitlands, giving Sour Cherry a 3.69 on Sept. 24, 2015, Apricot a 3.68 on April 7, 2016, the basic one a 3.94 on June 16, 2016, Blood Orange & Hibiscus a 3.75 on Sept. 25, 2016 and Rosé Edition a 3.93 on Aug. 6, 2018. Online description of this read, “Fruitlands is tart, fruity, & frighteningly delicious. The sour, salty base beer lays down a stellar foundation for heavy doses of orange, lime, & pineapple, yielding a ridiculously tasty wall-to-wall tropical fiesta. It’s a marvelous mix of elements that collides with your mouth like a fruit-filled asteroid of flavor traveling at the supersonic speed of party.” Admittedly and embarrassingly never have had a Mai Tai before, at least that I can remember.

Poured a clear golden color with three fingers of frothy white head. Lots of bubble streams coming up from the bottom of the glass at a fast pace. Very bad watery lacing. Good retention. (Sight - 3.50)

Smelled line, pineapple, orange tart, salt, hints of watermelon and passion fruit. Very sugary and sweet as well. More pineapple and orange from the can. (Smell - 4.25)

Tasted similar to the nose. In order got lime, pineapple, tart orange, salt, hints of coconut, passion fruit, watermelon, lemon zest and bubblegum. (Taste - 4.25)

Light body. Creamy-to-sticky texture. Average carbonation. Sugary sweet finish. (Feel - 4.25)

Really liked this overall. Very sweet, but getting the salt too. Excellent. (Overall - 4.25)

4.21 | 94 | A-

Cloudy yellow with 4 fingers of white head.

Smells of pineapple and peaches.

Tastes sour with hints of fruit and a bitter finish.

Medium juicy body with high carbonation.

Got it in Mt Shasta City, drinking in Redding Aug 21, 2020.

just kinda sits there in the glass. funky cardboard flavor, albeit with lots of fruit. maybe just some off the wall fruit i'm not familiar with? but as we get deeper, the fruitiness contributes more and the cardboard hangs until the end. slightly tart. super-easy to drink. i'm not a tart or 'gose' kind of guy but i have appreciated a few in my lifetime. and this is the Modern Times version of one, obviously, and like most other styles they produce, it is rounded and less-distinct that the hard styles and usually very easy to drink. this one is refreshing and delicious, most particularly on a semi-warm August afternoon. the 4.25 in taste reflects on drinkability and not style.

 

 

 

Can poured into a Modern Times Beer glass

A: Pours golden yellow with a frothy off white head that settles to a light layer and leaves a little spotty lacing.

S: The first thing you get is a smack in the face of lime, then the tartness, a hit of salt, and some coriander like spice, earthy funky wheat, and hints of pineapple and orange.

T: Mild tartness, citrus, lime takes the lead, a little orange, pineapple slowly comes out as it warms up, noticeable salt, coriander like spice, slightly earthy funky twangy wheat, and a touch of crackery biscuity malt. There's a lingering flavor of citrus pith and zest.

M: Medium body, lively carbonation.

O: I was pretty excited about this one, but boy howdy, this is the first beer in a long time that I can say didn't grow on me even a little as I worked my way through it. The lime totally takes over and the other additions are lost. If you called it a Margarita Edition I would probably go along with it, but even then I wouldn't be crazy about it. IDK what happened this year, but some of MT's magic has warn off. This is easily my least favorite thing I've ever had from them.

Cloudy yellow with a minimal white head.

Smells mildly sweet and fruity. Bitter pineapple scent.

Starts out sour with a soda cracker malt flavor. Mostly it is sour and bitter.

Mouthfeel is light.

Overall, not a good beer.

Tall can, $4.99. Cloudy orange with a head that immediately disappeared. Fruity aroma, cut limes, touch of wheat, spice. Touch of salt, sweet, mildly tart, hint of pineapple, more wheat on the finish. It goes down very fast. Interesting.

a fun beer for the tall cans! reasonably priced too at under five bucks. its a solid base beer, we know that from previous variants, this one is done with orange, lime, and pineapple, a nice summery mix for a hot solstice celebration! very pale brew here, not quite clear but not murky or cloudy either, and it holds a full inch of airy white head the whole drink, pretty in the glass, staying very well carbonated, and really light for summer. the aroma is tart and clean, lemon lime notes here for sure, lemon from the tidy lactic souring, lime from it being added, makes this smell bright and refreshing, not too acidic or anything, and with some earthy wheat character as well as the minerals from the salt, dynamic and complex for something this light. the flavor follows, a bit of a fresh orange thing in with the other citrus i taste, less of the pineapple until it warms up some, but even then this is citrus first for me, seemingly enhanced nicely by the salt, almost an electrolyte thing, a sports drink vibe, but this is very dry and without hardly any residual sugar despite it being fruity. i think the added fruits work great together but its the quality of the base gose that stands out the most to me here, i love the light pucker and the fast finish, really nice. not sure how well this really gets to mai tai for me, but its delicious warm weather beer. i need to track down some of the others in this fruitlands range, the ones ive had have been unique and tasty!