I used to be in the small beer business and I can tell you that 95% of the time a microbrewery randomly has a raspberry or strawberry or blueberry ot whatever offering its almost without fail a beer that has gone “off” when fermenting. A beer being “off” won’t make you sick or anything, but it does impart a harsh flavor, many times it will be bacto infection that hints towards vinegar. Smaller breweries don’t want to toss whole cycles (shortsighted, I know), so instead they dump massive amounts of fruit flavorings to cover it up. Or turn it into a “shandy”
I implore you all to stop purchasing any seasonal shandys or fruit beers that they don’t regularly advertise. The whole thing is a bruise on the industry.
Edit: Some people are interpreting this to say that fruit beers are bad, or are all repurposed. The point is just buyer beware, it’s an incredibly common way to save batches that don’t taste right.
And yeah… most small brewers despise brett and adjacent bacterias, with a passion… it’s just stupid invasive in any system that isn’t all metal and glass, and even then still can somehow find it’s way.
Fruited beers are very popular and breweries make them sincerely and routinely, especially for sours and milkshake-style ipas that tend to be the big hits with young people that don’t have a taste for more “serious”/traditional beers. This is the beer for Basics and is the bread and butter of the local nano and microbrewery to draw in diverse crowds. They also change up their selection to drum up continuing interest.
If there is any brewery that tries to recover infected batches by masking the flavor the Brewery deserves to be ridiculed and shut down. I spent over a decade as a craft beer buyer for a large place that dealt with literal scores of microbreweries and have never even heard a sniff of a rumor about a good brewery doing that shit, and I think you should name and shame the one you worked for the did.
Fully agree. I worked in beer for years and this guy does not speak for the industry. Makes me wonder how bad things were at the brewery he worked at if he thinks this is the norm.
Additionally, seasonal beers and beers not “regularly advertised” (whatever that means?) are a way for breweries to test concepts and demand before scaling and planning distribution; fruited or otherwise. Most breweries have a pilot system where they are testing concepts, techniques, flavors, etc. These beers make it to the taproom and/or see a limited release and then the brewery assesses the response.
I could not disagree more with this post.
Yeah I call nonsense.
Now do we want to talk about Busch Lite? I worked for a giant brewery and know how they one is made.
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do you still brew? I’m trying to get more homebrewers in the community I moderate.
I agree. This LPT is complete bullshit. Does the OP live in the middle of nowhere, where local breweries are doing this to their customers?
OP worked for Ricky and Julian at Freedom 35
I brew beer at home. when beer is off if it tastes rotten and you’ll want to puke.
leave the radlers alone.
Yeah that doesn’t apply to every brewery. My wife works for a micro brewery (3 barrel system). They have 22 taps and constantly rotating out new beers and flavor combos. I’m often there helping to brew (and scoop out the spent grain which we feed to our spoiled chickens). MOST of the time they’re using high grade amoretti brand flavoring (although they do add other stuff like fresh fruits or spices and cakes where appropriate).
But since they’re not producing high volume, they are constantly rotating out flavors and styles of beers. Almost every other week there’s something new on tap.
I’ve worked at breweries.
Ops advice is just wrong. Bad breweries make bad beer. Clean breweries make good beer.do you still brew? I mod a homebrew community that needs more ppl.
How is this a bruise on the industry? Many people like fruity beers, and if it’s a good way to not be wasteful, what’s the issue?
Belgium lambic beers are delicious—they arise from exposure to wild yeast and bacteria. They often have a distinctive, tart taste that is highly desirable.
I’m not sure this is a LPT. If you like the beer, drink it. So what if it didn’t come out exactly as it was planned.
I knew people that would say the flavors weren’t off. The beer just changed style
This isna quality tip!
What would be considered a microbrewery? I know a local company that only sells in your city for sure would be considered one. But what about a larger company that sells regionally?
Edit: Hmm, the lack of an answer on this from OP has me a little suspicious. I’m going to agree with the other commenters and assume OP is bamboozling us.
yes
This is just plain wrong. If a brewery has an infected beer, they aren’t going to be able to cover it up. It will also compete with the yeast. Besides, any professional brewery will only very rarely have mistakes. This shit is a science at this point. And while experiments sometimes go wrong, serving bad beer well 100% tank a microbrewery with his much competition there is.
Almost every brewery near me does seasonal fruited or fruit flavored beers. 2 of them have lacto sour lines they change the flavor profile of seasonally. You’ll often see experiments in this type with lighter profile beers like hefeweizen: similar name but throw a fruit flavor in there. They are easier to flavor with fruit because of closer flavor profile.
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Idk about “almost without fail”, a lot of people like fruity beers, it makes sense that a lot of breweries would intentionally make them. I’d avoid them at middling breweries because they’re more likely to use fruit flavorings from jugs instead of real fruit and I prefer the real stuff.
Drink what you want and stop listening to beer snobs telling you what to drink and what not to drink. Me personally, I love the weird shit from Martin House in Fort Worth, in fact I have a Mustard beer waiting in the fridge. You can’t tell me they don’t know what they’re doing either because they ALWAYS nail the flavors.
That’s fine if you want to drink it still, but I appreciate the PSA.
Good to know. I’ve never liked fruited beer myself, the flavors just don’t work. If I want sweet carbonated alcohol I’m reaching for a cider.
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I like trying open fermentation beers
Thanks for this!
Maybe this is why Leinie’s Summer Shanty gives me the shits every damn time.
Also I wonder if this includes Sours?
It shouldn’t, or it’s a very bad brewery if they do this.
LPT: Buy and drink beers you like and ignore pretentious weirdos who think small companies with thin margins that don’t want to have to take a complete loss are a “bruise on the industry”
What if it is a Gatorade infused sour?
Hear me out. https://www.peddlerwv.com/whats-on-tap/
I’ve had all but the orange, and they are all very good by my tongue, but I’m not exactly a beer snob. Trend towards sours and lagers, not a big hops flavor fan.
