Berkshire Raspberry Strong Ale

Brewed by Berkshire Brewing Co.
Style: Fruit Beer
South Deerfield, Massachusetts USA

Courtesy of BA trade. Pours amber, tan head.Aroma fruity - raspberry, hoppy and just overall weak aroma. Taste of raspberry and hops, lingering tartness of the raspberries with a light hoppy finish. No idea how this one falls into the barleywine category as pet the label.

OK Sea Bass, what did you bring us here. The bottle says barleywine, ratebeer has strong ale in the title and it has been entered as a fruit beer style. What the hell is it? Diving in I may find out. Pours deep clear copper with thin near tan head. The aroma is big hits of raspberry extract with just hints of malt and no barleywine fruity esters. The taste is big in raspberry goodness. The raspberry can be pretty darn tasty from time to time if you choose to ignore the pure extract nature of the flavor. It is nearly sickeningly sweet with none of the tartness that comes with the actual fruit. I get just a hint of malt in the background. This one disappoints on all levels. It is hardly even a fruit beer since it didnt taste like actual fruit was use during brewing. Putting barleywine on the label is just criminal.

Bottle courtesy of sebletitje. Pours a clear cola brown color with a thin tan head. Aroma is sweet with notes of ripe fruit, raspberry, malt, some phenol notes. Flavor is malty and sweet with notes of ripe fruit, raspberry, some notes of caramel and honey and a subtle hop presence. Generally medium body with a slightly sweet and bitter finish.

22oz. bomber: This one pours a ruby amber color. There was a bit of an off white head on it, but that disappeared to nothing very quickly. No lacing at all. The nose is raspberry. Not overly strong, but it masks most everything else. I get a whiff of alcohol and caramel malt coming through also. Pretty smooth taste. Some raspberry, but not overly done. Some caramel malt. A touch of sourness to the finish. This is actually pretty good. I would definitely buy more.

Bottle... Hazy, singed caramel-colored ale with a small, creamy, fat-bubbled, off-white head. Lots of raspberry in the nose. Smells artificial, but still pleasant... sweet and fruity. Full-bodied with prickly carbonation. The high abv is well-hidden. A touch more tart than sweet. Fruity. The tanginess is cool, but kind of odd. Astringent, grassy, dry finish. <b>Thanks to beerbill for the bottle!</b>

Poured into a tulip a very nice golden amber color, very nice carbonation, very nice one-finger creamy off-white head, lots of nice thick sticky lacing follows. The nose is sweet, malty, nice touch of raspberry, and caramel. The taste is sweet, malty, some raspberry going on, with some caramel. Medium body, this is a very tasty ASA, the alcohol is hidden very well. Very drinkable, a pleasure drinking this one, highly recommended. Thanks Andrew.

This is a very attractive looking beer. deep brown with rudy red tint just barely letting light though the glass. pretty nice flavor with the rasberries not being aritficial. was very surprised to see the ABV on this one, you cannot tell at all. But might have liked to get some alcohol notes to see how it paired witht he fruit.

I’d say that this is a successful combination of the fruit beer and barleywine genres, so to speak. Strong, but not artificial raspberry flavor can seem a bit overpowering from time to time, as it is accentuated by the alcohol aftertaste. However, the warming effect of this brew lulls you into a sense of comfortablility and enjoyment. Not a bad beer after all.