Mixed Fruit Beer
Life Brewpub

When the choice of fruit becomes too much, just use a bunch of them. That's the mindset of Life Brewpub with an inaugural ale that has roots of Belgian pale ale but with a spicy, fruit-centric attitude.

Pale gold and with a hint of peach and mauve, the hazy beer comes with a spritzy, popping froth that gives a sparkling zinfandel appearance. Fruit cocktail aromas come with hints of wine and mascerated berries. Its taste is gently sweet with light honey, simple syrups and a pep of wafer.

As the sweetness lift, the fruitiness of the beer turns from a juicy and succulent upstart and into a tangy, tart and spicy middle palate. Apple, cherry, raspberry, blackberry, red grape, orange and grape are all represented either from fruit additions or a yeast ester complement. Spicy and bitter to finish, a cloud of antiseptic, pepper and menthol balance the beer with a slimly bitter contribution of hops.

Medium light and tasting more like fruit wine, the yeast spices provide a spice and numbing quality to the finish along with a long peppery and winey alcohol presence that registers like cough drops in the beer's closure, but with a tangy wine-like aftertaste to save the day.