There are almost 9,000 breweries in the U.S. alone. That means that there are endless IPAs, stouts, porters, pale ales, lagers, pilsners, and any number of fruit-based beers. Today, we’re talking the latter — fruited IPAs, fruited sours, and maybe a fruit-based pale ale or pilsner thrown in there here and there as well.
Joe Connolly, director of Springdale Beer Co. in Framingham, Massachusetts has a particular style in mind when he thinks of fruited beer. “It’s got to be a fruit lambic from Belgium,” Connolly tells us. He continues, “two memories from a single trip stand out specifically. A thirty-plus-year-old bottle of cherry-fruited lambic from the Boon Blendery. Incredibly, it was still effervescent with incredible depth of cherry pit flavor. But on the same trip, we sampled fresh fruit lambic from Cantillon and a few other breweries, illustrating the fact that fruit beers are often at their peak at their freshest.”
But there’s more to fruited beers than Belgium’s amazing offerings, and many memorable fruited beers come from right here in the U.S. That’s why we asked a handful of our favorite brewers, brewing professionals, and craft beer experts to tell us their favorite crafty fruit beers of all time.
Almanac Hypernova Vol. 4
Ashley Benson, head brewer at Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. in Phoenix
ABV: 5.8%
Average Price: $9 for a 16-ounce can
Why This Beer?
I enjoy a good, fruited sour and this one has a great balance of sweetness from the fruit and acidity from the culture. Plus, there’s a touch of complexity from the barrel, which I find intriguing given they added an additional element of lactose.
Sierra Nevada Wild Little Thing
Cooper Asay, head of quality at BrewDog USA in Columbus, Ohio
ABV: 5.5%
Average Price: $11 for a six-pack
Why This Beer?
The original Otra Vez from Sierra Nevada was amazing. Sadly, they don’t make it anymore. It was a fruited gose with grapefruit and cactus. If I was to pick a beer that it is in production from Sierra Neva, I’d pick Wild Little Thing, a sour ale brewed with guava, hibiscus, and strawberry.
New Glarus Strawberry Rhubarb
Luis G. Brignoni, founder of Wynwood Brewing Co. in Miami
ABV: 4%
Average Price: Limited Availability
Why This Beer?
New Glarus Strawberry Rhubarb is probably my favorite. It’s a perfect balance between the tartness of the Wild Ale and the sweetness of the fruit. It’s not too sweet, not too tart, but it’s beautiful. I enjoy the wild fermentation and character that comes with it along with the effervescence. It’s a special one.
Short’s Soft Parade
Kelly Laut, brewer at Sun King Brewery in Indianapolis
ABV: 7.5%
Average Price: $10 for a six-pack
Why This Beer?
One of my favorite fruit beers is Short’s Soft Parade. No matter the time of year, the fresh berry aroma radiates summertime. Their use of real fruit shines through authentically and the fact that it’s so heavily fruited but not crazy sweet is a plus in my book. At the end of the day, my friends and I joke that if we aren’t as relaxed as the lady on the Soft Parade can, we’re doing it wrong.
Destination Unknown Orange You Glad We Brewed An IPA
Dave Lopez, co-managing partner at Gun Hill Brewing in Bronx, New York
ABV: 8%
Average Price: Limited Availability
Why This Beer?
I’m not sure if this is the best fruit-based beer I’ve ever had, but it’s probably the one that I’ve enjoyed most often. It’s an IPA made by Destination Unknown and Big Alice Brewing called Orange You Glad We brewed an IPA, a double IPA with blood orange and grapefruit. What I enjoy about this beer is that the blood orange and grapefruit really just compliment and then accentuate the hop character of the beer. As a result, the beer does not truly taste like you’re drinking a ‘fruit-based beer,’ which is generally the way I’d prefer it.
Beachwood Blendery Come in Grape, Your Time is Up (Grenache)
John “Magic” Montes De Oca, co-head brewer at Barebottle Brewing Company in San Francisco
ABV: 8.5%
Average Price: $20 for a 750ml bottle
Why This Beer?
I don’t think most people know that Beachwood Brewing’s funky side makes some of the best mixed-fermentation beers around. Beachwood Blendery’s Come in Grape, Your Time is Up is made with an insane amount of Grenache grapes and truly pushes the amount of fruit character you can get in a beer. It’s like a fruit-forward Lambrusco with some amazing mixed-fermentation funk.
New Glarus Raspberry Tart
Todd Bellmyer, head brewer at Wynkoop Brewing Company in Denver
ABV: 4%
Average Price: $11 for a four-pack
Why This Beer?
Raspberry Tart by New Glarus Brewing Co. is a spontaneously fermented framboise that is out of this world good. There is so much raspberry flavor and aroma to the beer, yet it is balanced and not overly tart. It’s also a gorgeous ruby red color that almost forces you to drink it when it’s poured.
Westbound & Down Metaberry
Lauren McCaffrey, packaging technician at WeldWerks Brewing Co. in Greeley, Colorado
ABV: 6.7%
Average Price: Limited Availability
Why This Beer?
The best fruit-based beer I’ve tried was Metaberry from Westbound & Down. It’s a tart barrel-aged golden sour with blackberries. I love the tart beers, and this one had a rich berry flavor with some fun barrel characteristics.
Hoosier Chubby Bunny Hot Mango
Garth E. Beyer, certified Cicerone® and owner and founder of Garth’s Brew Bar in Madison, Wisconsin
ABV: 5.5%
Average Price: $22 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
Why This Beer?
Hoosier Brewing Co. brewed a Chubby Bunny sour. Their best version to date is the mango, habanero, chocolate, and marshmallow version. It’s loaded with mango puree to give it a heavier body and tropical sweetness on the front end and then they add a light touch of chocolate, the bitterness of which balances out the sweetness of the fruit. It’s finished with habanero peppers and marshmallows, again, at such a perfectly balanced amount that you get citrus harmony from the habaneros with the sweetness of marshmallows, and it’s finished with a very subtle taste of sweetened habanero smoke. That might come off as a tropical S’more description that might not sound amazing, but boy is it.
Fonta Flora Fruit Bat Disco
Brent Manning, co-founder of Riverbend Malt House in Asheville, North Carolina
ABV: 4.7%
Average Price: $16 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
Why This Beer?
I have to go with Fruit Bat Disco from Fonta Flora in Morganton, North Carolina. This is a clean fermented saison with locally-harvested strawberries. This is one of those rare fruit beers that is released when the fruit is actually in season. While strawberries are notoriously challenging to work with, this beer delivers that perfect taste of summer sweetness right out of the field.