Spritzen - Raspberry Lemon
Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company

I hit upon Leinie's back when they were still a WisCANsin independent brewery during a Navy buddy's tour of duty with the ROTC unit at UW (Madison). I became a Leinie's Lodge member & still dig their output. One of the great regrets of The CANQuest (tm) is that the SlimLine CANs that this came in never took off as hoped. SixPoint is the most CANmon user, other than Red Bull, with ocCANsion users like this one.

From the CAN: "Leinenkugel's Spritzen Beer with a Splash of Seltzer and Natural Flavor - Raspberry Lemon".

I Crack!ed open the vent & once I beCAN my slow, gentle C-Line Glug into the awaiting glass, I immediately sensed that this one was going to be better than the previous Grapefruit iteration. For one, it formed two-plus fingers of fizzy, foamy, rocky, bone-white head with CANparatively much better retention, slowly fading into wisps with a modicum of lacing in its wake. Color was also deeper, now a Straw-Yellow (SRM = > 2, < 4) with NE-quality clarity. Nose, while still of a chem lab origin, was not as sharp or unnatural as in the grapefruit. Also, I only got raspberry on the nose. Mouthfeel was thin & watery. The taste was not bad, a muted raspberry-lemon, but not sweet and kind of evocative of a dessert, like a tart or a lemon cake with raspberry sauce. It just needed a bit more presence. Finish was semi-dry & refreshing. Now, I am CANurious to try that third one. YMMV.

12 ounce can into IPA glass. Best before 9/21/2020. Pours lightly hazy pale golden straw color with a 2-3 finger fairly dense and fluffy white head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Great soapy lacing and streaming carbonation. Aromas and flavors of red raspberry, lemon, citrus zest, with light wheat crackery malt and herbal/peppery hops. Light-moderate herbal/grassy/peppery bitterness on the finish. Aromas were a lot more vibrant on the authentic raspberry and lemon notes than the flavors. Well carbonated, crisp, and clean. Very dry finish. Light body with a touch of pilsner-like graininess. Refreshing. Tastes like whatever the base beer is for summer shandy, but cut with seltzer. This was well made for what they were going for, considering I knew it would be watered down from the seltzer aspect. Just as good as the grapefruit was before it.

 

Had these as part of the variety packs they sell. Wife has been on a seltzer kick and thought this might be something different. It's hard for me to tell who these are meant for: too much beer for seltzer fans and a watered-down experience for beer fans. The flavors are artificial and in the ballpark: the pineapple strawberry is mostly pineapple, the raspberries show up in the aftertaste, and the grapefruit is the winner of the three.