Bistro Cabana - Mango & Passionfruit
Energy City Brewing

Murky orange color. Big, yellow head. Mango, passionfruit, and sugar in the aroma. Moderately tart, fruity taste. Thick, smooth body. Another tasty smoothie.

 

Best by date 11/25/23

Appearance - Opaque and slightly dirty orange in color with barely any head, as it fizzes away, both visual and aurally, settling quickly to a barren surface and no lacing, but there is a very fine and clear, almost mottled glass effect left by the ultra-fine sediment of the beer on the sides of this stemmed flute I'm drinking this from.

Smell - Very tropical, with blended passionfruit and mango fruit aroma with a very champagne-like alcohol undertone.

Taste - Follows the nose. Fair tartness and ripe with natural, juicy mango and passionfruit. Underlying fermented fruit booziness hits mid-taste, with a champagne-like quality. Finish and aftertaste ride strong with the aforementioned fruit puree of mango and passionfruit and lingering champagne undertones.

Mouthfeel - Full-bodied but with tingly carbonation that battles to fight through the thickness of this "fruit smoothie". Slightly dry finish, with a faint touch of chalkiness.

Overall - Tastes more like a fruit puree that someone added a sour beer to than it does a beer with fruit to compliment the beer. Whether you like it or not, this is a beer trend that started years ago and isn't stopping anytime soon. Enjoy it for what it is, I suppose, and not what you think a berliner-weisse should be??

 

Beer or tropical smoothie? You make the call! Energy City is bringing their big beer energy to the bar in a Bistro Cabana flavor that's straight out of tropical island vacations with mango and passionfruit for a session more meant for a straw than a snifter.

Pouring with pudding-like consistnecy', the pastel golden ale gives a matte appearance, completely opaque and plainly visually thick. As its froth slowly separates from the beer, the foamy beer billows past the brim. A radiant and tangy fruit perfume provides tropical, citrus, cider and winey scents in true smoothie form. Creamy, sweet and rich on the early palate, the beer drinks about as easily as saltwater taffy, fruit rollups and pie filling.

While the middle palate sees a rise of tartness, an undercurrent of green apple, sour white grape and gooseberry provides a winey, cidery and tangy balance, but the mango and passionfruit flavors overwhelm the senses and bring a juicy center flavor and feel with a peppery pectin bite that gives the late taste a tannic, earthy and slightly pungent balance.

Full bodied and about as refreshing as gelato, the beer certainly prefers a session of fruit decadence and culinary art at the sacrifice of cleanliness, crispness or refreshment. Difficult to palate on a mouthfeel level, the beer is delicious and besides... I'll never have to worry about getting scurvy again.