https://harpoonbrewery.com/beer/low-key/ How do you feel about a low abv low cal craft light lager that has tropical fruit notes ? Maybe some do from smaller breweries but I dont know any large craft brewery making a light lager with tropical fruits. I had this the other day and its obviously meant to session but I didnt really want to session it because of the fruit added.
Is actual fruit added to the beer? Or maybe the tropical fruit flavor is from using a hop variety that yields tropical fruit flavors? You asked how folks would feel about this beer. I personally would be reticent to buy this beer but if somebody handed one to me I would try it. I have a buddy (Chuck) who buys Golden Road Mango Cart. He told me he drinks this beer while golfing and he appreciates its lower ABV (i.e., 4%) and enjoys the Mango flavor. Maybe this new beer from Harpoon would be right up his alley? Cheers! @LeRose , do you have any insight as to whether actual fruit is used to brew this Harpoon beer?
I’m pretty sure there’s no fruit in this beer. It’s just a low ABV light lager with fruit forward hops.
full label available: https://mybeerbuzz.com/harpoon-brewery-adding-low-key-belgian-holiday/ "beer with natural flavors" so probably with a concentrate or extract.
I suspect not but I don't have a connection at Harpoon any more - one of the non-perks of retired life, I suppose. You can get pretty similar flavors with hops and with the low calorie count I doubt there's any real fruit in there. Even at 3-ish percent ABV it'd be easy for residual fruit sugars (fructose) to push those 97 calories up a tick. They could, however, be using essences, WONF (With Other Natural Flavors), or non-natural flavors although I'd doubt that. Below is what I found in the public domain (Bev Industry) so whatever they are doing they ain't really saying..."new techniques" is pretty vague. The full label implies they are using some sort of additive, but they may also be playing with the process and avoiding heat (somehow) which would lessen deleterious effects on fruit flavors. If they were adding fruit or fruit juice in any form it'd be tricky to use enough to gain significant fruit flavor without adding a few calories, in my opinion. I know you can pull some sugars out of fruit juice, but that'd be a fairly expensive ingredient especially for tropicals. There are "washes" that are low sugar fruit juices but they typically don't carry a lot of flavor either. There lots of ways to "preserve" flavors once they are included, so maybe some combination of ingredients and processing delivers whatthey claim. Harpoon Brewery unveiled its latest brew: Low Key, a new 3.3% ABV craft lager with tropical fruit notes. Low Key represents a deliberate innovation play for Harpoon based on emerging cultural trends toward moderation over abstention, the company notes. Rather than simply diluting an existing popular recipe, the team applied new techniques to preserve flavor, aroma, and craft quality, just at a lower ABV, it says. The result is a beer designed to drink like a full craft experience – just more sessionable and accessible, it adds. More double-speak: Harpoon wades into "mid-strength" beer market with Low Key lager - Axios Boston
