Harbor City Raspberry Brown Ale

Harbor City Brewing Company
Formerly brewed at Sand Creek Brewing Co. (Pioneer/Wisconsin Brewing Co.)
Style: Fruit Beer
Port Washington, Wisconsin USA

After having Milwaukee Ale Houses bad malt liquor, I did the unthinkable and ordered a beer from another brewer. They had this on tap, and the waitress recommended it. A very tasty fruit beer, it helped to get the bad aftertaste of my previous beer out of my mouth.

The raspberry flavor was tart without being overpowering. I thought they did a pretty good job of making a fruit beer that was still a beer. The raspberry was more in the nose and in the initial taste, letting bitterness take over at the end.

Dark ruby amber color with a light tan head. Malt and raspberry aroma. Sweet caramel and tart raspberry flavors not very complex but decent flavors. Beat a lot of the other "barley pops".

Small white head with a clear light brown/orange body. Fairly full raspberry nose with some chocolate hints. Has a bitter/sour raspberry start with a very light dry/sweet coffee finish. I think this claims to be a winter beer, so the flavor may be going down a bit? Its not bad, in fact its pretty good, just slightly sour.

Deep, translucent and rusty brown in color with a dusty, old oil looking layer for the head. Raspberry kernels on whole wheat bread provide the aromatic introduction along with sweet syrupy ribbons to the tune of maple syrup over boysenberry pancakes. Some accents of chocolate cherry cordials as well. Flavor takes on much in the same. Cherry tootsie rolls with a heartfelt reliance on hazelnuts and chocolate powder. Touch of raspberry vinaigrette, but the acidity doesn’t breach anything serious. Additional contributions come by means of cocoa dinner rolls and blackberries. Chalky and syrupy simultaneously on the palate, and as balanced as one could hope for. Sweet raspberry sauce drizzled over chocolate cheesecake plays out in the finish.

Murky reddish brown color with a white bubble ring. Smells like raspberries with a bit of brown sugar. Tastes like grassily bitter raspberries with background caramel sweetness. There’s nothing amazing going on in this beer, but it’s a pretty decent effort at a fruit beer IMO.

Deep red color with no head. Aroma was definitely raspberry, but more of the heavy processed or cough syrup variety instead of fresh. The taste is thankfully as advertised. I can taste the nuttiness of a brown and the rasberry is light enough to play a supporting role. Not bad.

Dark brown body, but shows ruby when held to the light. The head is white and small. The raspberries dominate the aroma. There is also some light chocolate. The taste has a slightly tart raspberry along with a dry finish. The other taste makes me think that this is a raspberry ice cream malt. Decent beer if you are a fan of raspberries.