The “BTY” objective beer tasting panel was asked to taste 3 fruit beers brewed at the former Melbourne Brothers in Lincolnshire England, now owned by Samuel Smith’s. The Brewery is described as a “gem” that has been nearly unchanged since it was built during the reign of Queen Victoria. I have tasted other “Melbourne Brothers” labeled beers that claim to be spontaneously fermented much in the same way as authentic Belgian lambic beers. These Samuel Smith’s labeled products are said to have been fermented with “complex multiple yeast strains” and do not have the tell-tale “barnyard” characteristics typically left behind by the organisms of spontaneous fermentation.  

Unlike, authentic fruit lambics, the fruit in these beers comes from organic juice and not whole, macerated fruit and it shows…

When it comes to fruit beers, I tend to set the bar pretty high. In my opinion, the fruit should not detract or completely overpower the characteristics of the underlying beer. This is a tricky balance and the reason so many brewers cannot pull it off. Bushels of fruit in the aroma, is fine as long as I can still detect beer as well. When tasting a fruit beer, the first thing one should expect is pleasant acidity, and refreshing balance, not an all out assault of sweet fruity flavors. Subtlety and restraint is part of the fruit-beer brewer’s art. The drinker should also be able to taste the fundamental characteristics of the fruit, if it says cherry on the label, I should be able to detect “Cherry” in the flavor, but it shouldn’t scream it out to me.

The balancing act is more difficult to pull-off when the brewer opts to use juice in lieu of whole fruit. Let’s be honest, how often do you find even the best fruit juice that tastes exactly like the whole fruit? The juice is a homogenous blend of flavors, sure, but it lacks the subtle flavors imparted by the tannins and pectins from the skin and pulp, or the nutty flavors from the seeds or pits. Have you ever sucked on a cherry-pit? There is a definite nutty flavor there. It comes from “cyanide” and in small amounts it tastes like almonds and it is very good! These flavors are left in the squeezer when the fruit is made to juice.

Here are the beers:

Organic Strawberry – This was the one that scared me the most. I tend to find things that are “strawberry flavored” taste nothing like strawberries. This beer did better than we expected. The BTY panel thought this beer to be a pleasant and drinkable beer that could go with food very well. None of us could really taste the underlying (English?) ale, and of course there were a few comments alluding to “chick beer”, Oh well…

Organic Raspberry- This is an often used fruit with historical roots in lambic brewing. I find it difficult to find a balance with this fruit unless the underlying beer is sour, like lambic. If you really like raspberry, you will like drinking this beer. The panel generally enjoyed the beer and made a few comments on which chocolate based dessert they wished they had at that moment. The raspberry is a bit overstated, but pleasant. There was a tiny hint that a beer existed under the raspberry flavor. One of our distinguished panelists said that it reminded him of “Cheerwine” soda.  

Organic Cherry- I was really looking forward to this beer but upon first tasting my thoughts flashed back to an image of my mom holding a spoon in one hand and a bottle of cough syrup in the other. Why Sam Smith! Why! Just go a little easier on the cherries next time! Ok, the panel did not agree on this beer. I was a definite dissenter; with my only positive comment being how this beer would rock in a sauce to serve with venison. Another comment was that it tasted “Medicinal”. The use of juice instead of whole fruit definitely overstates the cherry flavor with no nutty flavors or at least overpowered nutty flavors. Some of the other tasters felt that the beer did what it said it would. Okay, maybe it would rock with some triple-crème cheese!

A few Panelist Comments:

“I know that technically, they are really beers; but that is a stretch. They have the character of sweet fruit beverages, not of beer. Those looking for a traditional beer character will be disappointed. As sweet fruit beverages, however, they have some depth of taste and true-to-the-fruit flavors. They’re just hard to review as beers.” – Charles Bockway

“If you like drinking Cheerwine or Big Red with you pork bbq, the Sam Smith Raspberry might be for you.” With regard to all of them: “Keep a few of these beers in your fridge for when you have a lady friend over.  Chicks should really dig these beers.” – Chris Workman 

Sam Smith Raspberry- a perfect complement to any pork bbq, but would be fabulous with pork butt, imho. I agree with Charles, but as discussed during the sampling, I see some great potential for these beverages.  – Alan Gore 

I agree with many of the points made by our panel. I think these beers are well made and have potential when paired properly with food or to sip as dessert. Charles hits in on the head when he says that they are hard to re view as beers; these are beverages that most people who dislike beer would drink without much protest.  

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 25th, 2009 at 10:21 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.