Weird Beer Thursday - Dark Horse Raspberry Ale

Dark Horse Raspberry Ale

Why it's weird:
Ale brewed with real raspberries.

What's up with this beer:
Back to the fruit beer this time. This Raspberry Ale comes from Dark Horse Brewery in Marshall, Michigan. In the recent past, I have enjoyed their Amber Ale and their Crooked Tree IPA. I have to say that the Raspberry Ale was pretty refreshing when served cold (so it could make a great Summer beer), but in general I just wasn't that into the flavor. It seems that I am more fond of Blueberry Ale than Raspberry Ale. Although I do like raspberries quite a bit, I don't think that they work that well with beer. There is some tartness, which is OK, but there is another taste / aftertaste that I didn't really enjoy - and I can't really explain it. Just something about the mix of flavors from real raspberries with the beer ingredients didn't work for me. Also, the amount of carbonation seemed too high to me. In general, Dark Horse is true to their word (in details below) in that their Raspberry Ale is definitely more of a real ale than just being a fruity malt beverage. But I didn't think the beer itself was that great. It's not that bad, just something I would not buy again. If I was given it for free, I would probably drink it, especially served very cold on a warm Summer day.
The label reminds of illustrations from a book that I liked when I was a child - The Giant Jam Sandwich.

Details: (from the brewery)
A lot of people have asked us "why are there Bee's on the label?” Well, we don't really have an answer for you other than they just look cool. This is a light bodied easy drinking ale. We only use real raspberries so the flavor is very mild fruit and balanced, not what you would expect from a "fruit" beer. The way we see it is we're brewers so lets make good beer, not some fruity carbonated malt beverage. Oh yeah, our motto..."beer first fruit second".
ABV 5%

My Rating:
The glass is half empty.

Weird Beer Thursday - Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale

Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale

Why it's weird:
Obviously, it's made with blueberries (from Maine!).

What's up with this beer:
I kept seeing this at my local beer store last year, but at that time I was not into fruit beers at all, and I thought for sure that I would not like it. Now, my tastes have changed and I have enjoyed many "fruit beers" recently. That Chicago Tribune article about fruit beers must have really piqued my interest. I previously reviewed a Mbege-style ale which is brewed with bananas, and recently at The Hopleaf I had the interesting Surly Two, which is made with lots of cranberries (those BA reviews are accurate), which could easily be featured as a "weird beer" but I didn't get a photo. By the way, I can't wait to try more beers from the excellent Surly Brewery, but right now they are mostly only available in Minnesota.
I still do not like really fruit beers, like the ones that overly tart or are more wine-like than beer-like. So, once I realized that this Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale is more like an actual ale instead of a really fruity beer, I was confident to buy it and try it. Plus, I very much like blueberries. Turns out, I really liked Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale. It had subtle aromas of blueberries and also a subtle taste of fruit/blueberries, so it is not really fruity at all. Mostly, it was just an overall well-balanced amber ale that was enjoyable to drink. It is pretty much like drinking blueberry muffins, which I think is awesome. The six-pack that I purchased did not last long at all. My girlfriend also tried a bottle and also thought it was good. At one particular tasting time, I was still up at the early morning hours enjoying some of this blueberry ale, but then I got hungry. I found some blueberry waffles in my freezer (frozen from Trader Joes, which aren't all that "blueberry-y" either), so I toasted those up and ate 'em with the beer - it was a delicious (and might I say perfect) combination!
I have heard of a few other "blueberry beers" that exist out there, but I can see Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale probably being the best. They even state on the label that it is "America's Original Blueberry Ale". Although, Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale is not on the level of excellent, it is solidly good and I very much recommend it. And obviously, you will like it if you like blueberries and amber ales, both of which I happen to very much like.

Details: (from the brewery)
Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale
The Atlantic Brewing Company
Bar Harbor, Maine, United States
A light fruit ale, made with Maine wild blueberries. As opposed to many of the sweeter fruit beers on the market, our addition of fresh Maine wild blueberries in this light ale yields a subtle blueberry aroma, without the sweet aftertaste.

A mixture of the following Mutton malts, pale, crystal, and Munich, are combined with wheat to give this ale its lighter body, and we only use minimal amounts of Target and Willamette hops.

ABV 5.2%

My Rating:
The glass is half full.

Weird Beer Thursday - African-Style Mbege

Sprecher Mbege Ale

Why it's weird:
Fire-brewed African-style beer made with sorghum, millet, and banana juice. Um, yeah. This ain't your typical beer.

What's up with this beer:
OK, coincidentally this is the second Sprecher beer that I have tried and reviewed for Weird Beer Thursday. The first was the Mamma Mia Pizza Beer a couple weeks ago, which I had found at a promotional display in downtown Binny's. I found this Mbege beer at a small local liquor store, which also specializes in beer (of course!), as a single bottle in a discount bin. It was 50 cents, so I was like, what the heck - I gotta try this. Um, what can I say. The smell was unlike any other beer I've ever had. Obviously, I am not accustomed to drinking beers that are made with sorghum, millet, and banana juice. At first it was a little off-putting. Not really sure how to describe the aroma, maybe like a sweet 'n' sour. I was quite impressed by the pour, however, so at least it looked like a nice beer, as you can see from the photo. Well, I ended up drinking the whole glass, so it really wasn't that bad. I don't really have much to say, other than it is definitely like having banana juice in your beer (which I actually kind of like). On my old blog, I have already written about another beer that is brewed with bananas that I tried, which was Well's Banana Bread Beer, and which I thought was okay, but too lightly flavored.
Also, with this Mbege beer, I wasn't used to lack of wheat or barley, so the sorghum and millet used instead gave it a little unique flavor that wasn't all that bad, just something I'm not used to. Overall, it was kind of like a banana "cidery" ale, that was kind of refreshing and light, but I also enjoyed the unique and noticeable flavors. If it wasn't for these flavors, I may have given it my lowest rating, but instead I kind of respected it and liked it. But not that much, either.
It was also a little strong, so I could taste the alcohol, which I'm not saying was a bad thing. But one thing I am confused about, is that my bottle stated specifically on the label that it was 7.0% alcohol by volume (therefore, my noticing of such a level), but the Sprecher site says 5.2%.
And because they can explain this beer better than I can, here is Sprecher's brief description from their website:

"Bananas are the main ingredient in mbege style beers popular in Eastern Africa. In keeping with tradition, this is brewed with real bananas and presented unfiltered. Light hints of banana remain present in the aroma and flavor of this unique offering.

Originally conceived of in an effort to provide a traditional African style beer for Milwaukee's African World Festival, our Mbege and Shakparo have won the hearts of people here at the brewery and have been promoted to year round beer status.

Because barley and wheat are not grown in large quantities in sub-Saharan Africa, traditional Mbeges and Shakparos are brewed with sorghum and millet and are therefore able to be brewed gluten-free since neither sorghum nor millet contain gluten. Being gluten-free make Shakparo and Mbege excellent alternatives for those suffering from celiac disease, a genetic disorder that inhibits the digestion of gluten. Our Shakparo and Mbege offerings have been brewed with celiacs in mind and are carefully crafted to ensure they remain gluten-free."

Details:
Mbege Ale
Sprecher Brewing Company
Glendale, Wisconsin, United States
Alcohol by Volume: 5.2%
Degrees Plato (Initial Gravity): 13.25P
Weeks Aged: 6
Bitterness Units: 10 IBU
Year First Brewed: 2006
Recommended Serving Temperature: 50°
Sizes: 16oz Bottles

My Rating:
The glass is half empty.

Fruit Beer article from Chicago Tribune

Article titled "Fruit Beer, Redefined" from the Chicago Tribune, Good Eating section, April 9, 2008.

Click on the picture of the article to see very large view, so you can actually read it.

In general, I have not been into fruit beers very much at all. I may have to start exploring more fruit beers. I am really not a fan of Belgain-style lambics, such as framboise and kriek beers, though.

I was actually thinking about having Dogfish Head's Aprihop as the April Beer of the Month for this blog. I think it's really good.

There is another fruit beer that I want to try, but can no longer find it anywhere. I guess it was only around for the Winter and I missed it, or maybe it wasn't distributed here in Chicago. It is Dark Horse Brewery's Tres Blueberry Stout. I really like blueberries. Blueberry and stout just sound like a good combination to me. And I just saw they have a Raspberry Ale which sounds pretty decent from their description, which says that it is well balanced.

I have, in fact, seen Atlantic Brewing Company's Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale (from Maine) at my local liquor store, but I have always been skeptical of buying a 6-pack, with the thought that I would not like it. Maybe I'll give it a try soon.

I would, of course, very much like to try Three Floyds Behemoth Barleywine. The only problem is that it is so darn expensive. A bomber bottle (22 oz.) was like $16, I think.