Mango
"You can not have'a the Mango". "No...yes..no". Some of you will get that. In this case you can have the mango in your beer. Tropical Mango Pale Ale from St. John Brewers in t

The sweet smell of mango dominates. It leans more towards a syrupy candy mango than a natural fruit aroma. I expected a candy blast but surprisingly the sweetness is more subtitle in the taste. The brewer says it's a "light pale ale with a mango fruit essence". Essence, I think that mean no actual mangos were harmed in the making of this beer. Everything else here comes up bland. It's only slightly hoppy with very little bitterness and not much malt to speak of. Average at best. To fully appreciate this beer a towel spread out on a sandy beach under the Caribbean sun is needed.
Banana
Sticking with tropical fruit this beer comes from a very nontropical place, England. Wells Bana

The banana bread is in the aroma but it's not overpowering. It's a subtle combination of real banana and the candy flavoring. The label states that fair trade bananas were used in the brewing. The taste isn't too sweet, so no sugary beer here. The fresh banana is there from start to finish. I even wish the flavor were a little stronger. There's only a hint of hops and a little bitterness comes in at the end. Not bad. It's gimmicky and one of those beers you might get because you want something different (or you're doing a post on fruit beers). I prefer a good Hefeweizen with esters providing that great banana effect and delivering overall a better beer.
Watermelon
The first time I had watermelon beer was years ago at Boston Beer Works across from Fenway Park. I think it was served with a slice of watermelon on the rim, seeds and all. I don't remember the taste, but I know I didn't think it would catch on. Jump ahead a few year

This is definitely a wheat beer. A slight malty, wheat and spice character with a touch of lemon. The taste follows the aroma. Wheaty, lemon a touch of hops then at the end the watermelon comes through. There is some fruit sweetness but it stays light and crisp. Thankfully this is far from a watermelon explosion. H or HW would pair great with an afternoon of grass cutting or as a way to introduce someone to craft beer.
I thought I was done with the fruit beer tasting when Kelleigh pulled this from her beer stash.
Blueberry
Oh those

Bluish pink, artificial blueberry aroma, alco-pop influenced, candy sweet, boozy swill. A sugar rush, yes. Beer, no.
A taste of Mango
1 comment:
My two cents.. none are great but:
The best by far is the 2st Admendment Watermelon... light refreshing beer with just a faint hint of watermelon. I could see drinking a couple during a BBQ
2nd best, ST Johns Mango Pale Ale... really just a medium level pale ale with slight "somethin somethin" subtle sour\sweet. Nothing too offensive but nothing too great.
3rd place, Well's Banana Bread Beer... maybe it's just me or maybe I had a bad bottle but just had an odd flavor to me. A bit sulfury or something. Didn't care for it and I agree with beerwise in that I'd prefer a good wheat or wit.
4th, Blue Dawg Blueberry Lager... really not my thing. I could maybe see drinking an 8 ounce glass with a dessert maybe.. maybe..
Last, Roy Pitz Watermelon... i haven't had anything by this brewery that I've liked. I guess either I'm in the minority, or they have inside deals with some of the local suburban phily pubs (Capones, Union Jack's, Drafting Room), because their beers keep showing up and are spotlighted. This beer came across as really low quality home brew. I've judged home brew competitions and there is lots of stuff that it is up to par with many craft breweries, but Roy Pitz almost feels like they made the jump to craft brewing a bit too soon...
or maybe they do make some good beer in 5 gallon batches and are still trying to figure out how to produce larger quantities. Either way, this beer is off balance, watery, grainy, and has an artificial candy flavor to it. I'm not a fan.
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