Is it REALLY beer???

If you think of 'beer flavor' as being primarily hops and malt, then they probably don't have very much of that. But flavorings, spices, fruits, etc. have been a part of beer tradition for as long as it has been around, so in that respect I say 'why the hell not?'.

 

“Beer flavour” is a nonsense description anyway, does lambic or an IIPA for that matter a beer flavour? Most people equate “beer flavour” anyway with pale lagers which is how I prefer my beers not to taste like.

I have had 2 cucumber beers so far, Cigar City Cucumber Saison & Thornbridge Wye both were delicious which is good enough for me.

If you do not care for “special” ingredients just pass these beers.

 

Tired Hands has a Berliner Weisse brewed with local fresh farm tomatoes, and it was pretty great.

 

Yes, it's really beer.

 

I have been on the lookout for a Cucumber Saison. I have read several people post about how tasty xyz Brewery’s Cucumber Saison is; I can now count 77black_ships comments to that list.

This summer I have brewed two batches of Saison: a more European/Traditional Saison and a Hoppy Saison (Amarillo hops). I would gladly brew a Cucumber Saison if I can find a commercial beer to ‘test drive’ first.

Cheers!

 

That Cucumber Saison is like the most refreshing beer ever. Imagine how juicy and refreshing a cucumber is ... not think of in beer form.

 

Those look like fairly common ingredients to me.

 

I'm not a fan of CCB Cucumber Saison, but coconut porters are delicious.

 

Brewing beer with such ingredients is nothing new.

 

Nailed it. Most have been sheltered from anything other than pale lagers unfortunately.

 

I didn't like CCB's cuke saison as much as I did electric cukumbah from trinity brewing. The CCB had a bit of a pickle juice thing going for it that I didn't like at all.

 

Well, define "beer." It's fermented saccharafied starch solution. You take the sugary water after brewing a starch (wheat, barley, oats, corn...whatever) and wait for yeast to eat the sugar bits and poop out alcohol bits (while farting out carbonation). That's all beer is. Fermented grain tea.

That can be a reasonably broad definition which can include plenty of other ingredients besides just water, grain, hops, and yeast. Throughout beer's incredibly long history, and depending on the culture, there have been puritanical times where it was literally illegal to make beer with anything other than water, malt, hops, or grain, and there have been times when adding other adjuncts was the norm.

I personally love the flexibility that brewers have to get creative, adventurous, and sometimes a little crazy with adjuncts. I love trying coconut porters, spruce beers, herbed beers, etc. Or a more traditional style like a Belgian wit with coriander and orange peel. Above all, I appreciate a well done beer. I've liked "boring" beers that are exceptional examples of their style, a solid pale ale, hefe, brown, lager, etc...over the beers with crazy and exciting adjuncts.

 

Spices have been around longer than hops right???

 

Most of the time the description will be "beer brewed with....." What I'm not a fan of is when it's described as "malt beverage with natural flavors". I'm looking at you, Abita.

Edit: I should mention that the only time Abita enters my home is when the wife wants purple haze...

 

I personally love your definition of what beer is!

 

In all fairness, Abita is far from the only brewery to say that, and really, that statement is likely due to alcohol labeling laws, not the brewery. FYI, ya know.

 

Oh I know they're not the only one - I've seen that wording on some breweries whose stuff I love, and I figured it had to do something with government regulation. Abita just comes to mind because for me, most of their stuff tastes much more like a processed product than a fresh beer.

 

Quantitative changes eventually become qualitative changes. Is an ‘Oreo Frappuccino’ double chocolate chip frappe with white mocha syrup substituted for the regular mocha still coffee?