Berkshire Raspberry Strong Ale

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

Date: 02/10/2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewfest, Extreme Beer

clear dark red, fine white head, light tart raspberry aroma, sweet raspberry flavor on a nice but non descript malt backbone, all about the raspberry but it’s well balanced between the sweet and tart

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.2/5.0
Drinkability: 9/10
Score: *4

(22oz bottle, labeled as Raspberry Barleywine) Cloudy dark red-brown body with soft beige head. Aroma is medium sweet, raspberry syrup, lacking the tartness I associate with fresh raspberries. Taste is moderately sweet, raspberry, some earthiness, light alcohol astringency. Improves somewhat as it warms. Medium body with light stickiness.

22oz botttle acquired in trade with ppoitras (thanks!). Poured a medium reddish / orange color with an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of raspberries with some yeast. Tastes of raspberries. Somewhat syrupy. Sweet with a light tart finish. Wow, 9%, well hidden.

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>

Pours a ruby, cherry-wood color with a thin, fast dissipating head. Sweet Chambord-like aroma with plenty of ripe raspberries and some caramel malt. Body has hints of tart raspberry, overcome by malty syrupiness and a powerfully alcoholic finish. A great idea for a beer, but could use a little more balance and masking of alcohol. Still has decent complexity and fruit flavor.

The Lure:
A medecinal raspberry syrup welcomes the nostrils with a frown. Cranberries and dry proclivities live within, purporting a lack of authenticity. The clinging head and colourful waves make up for the artificiality of the aroma.

The Festivities:
Domineering yeast and stale raspberry grenadine. Alcohol’s almost a no show thankfully in this medium-bodied, earthy, musty fruit field. Awkward, not particularly tasty, and moreover nowhere near the vivacity and brilliance of others of its ilk, such as the New Glarus Raspberry Tart and Dieu du Ciel Amourette. Having this Berkshire after the previous two certainly did not help it in the authenticity department.

Transcendence:
You know those crates of raspberries or strawberries where they put the nice ones on top, and then back home when you delve into it salivating, you find out that all the ones under are almost rotting?

Pours amber with an off white head. Smells of rasberries and butter. Taste is of rasberries with elements of cane sugar and a hint of raisins. Strong alcohol finish. One of the best offerings from this brewery to date.

Ruby tinted amber beer with a creamy tan head. Aroma is quite fruity with loads of bright raspberry aroma. Some very light raspberry tartness and lots of juicy fruity character. Warming brings up some lean sweet malts. There’s not a lot of character malts or crystal in here, just lots of sweet pale malt and fresh raspberry character. As it warms up it really starts to come together, with a light bit of chocolate, sweet malts and tart raspberries. Lightly tart and quite a nice brew. It has some of the qualities of KRE, but dialled down a lot. Regardless it works very well.