New Fruity and Flavoured Beers
From Cherry to Chocolate, Americans Are Experimenting With New Beers
Imported and US-made flavoured beers are turning up in every kind of fruit flavour from raspberry to peach, plus coffee, chocolate and other new tastes.
Once upon a time, light beer was a niche product; these days it accounts for more than half of U.S. beer sales. Back in the 1970s, craft beers represented a negligible share of the market, but since the landmark publication of Michael Jackson’s World Guide to Beer in 1977, growing numbers of curious and adventuresome consumers have been seeking out different and darker flavors.
Flavoured Beers from Europe
Europeans have been fond of fruit-flavored beers for centuries, and many interesting imports are already available or soon to be seen in the U.S. For instance, Distinguished Brands International has plans to import a Belgian Lambic-style beer called Fruli. "It’s unique, in that while Lambics are traditionally brewed with blackberry (known as cassis), raspberry (framboise), cherry (kriek) and peach (peche) flavors, this is the first one with strawberry," says Distinguished Brands President Jeffrey H. Coleman.
"Most people think of strawberry as a scent rather than as a flavoring, but this is kind of a light strawberry color with natural strawberry flavoring and it’s really nice," he says. "Sampling it with people, everyone starts off a little hesitantly, but in the end they all say it’s really good."
The company is also planning to bring in two shandies from Farsons brewery in Malta, made to suit the British taste for this classic citrus-lager combination. "One is traditional, which is a lemon flavor, and there’s another that’s a lime shandy," says Coleman. "They’re quite refreshing."
US Cherry and Chocolate Beers
Americans are also producing their own flavored products. For the 2007 holiday season, Anheuser Busch brought out a two-pack called Michelob Celebrate. It combines a festive pair of seasonal brews in 40-ounce bottles, each containing about 8% alcohol.
"One is a chocolate beer – we age it in cocoa beans – and the other one is a cherry, which we brew and age in dried cherries," says Pat McGauley, Vice President - Innovations for Anheuser Busch. These products are marketed as part of an elegant holiday celebration, to be served in snifter-type glassware with food pairings like cheese or cheescake. "A lot of times, people will let the Celebrate serve at room temperature," McGauley points out.
"And one of my favorites is a beer we have up in Michigan, Wisconsin and a few other states. It’s called Wild Blue, and it’s 8% alcohol. When you pour it into a tall Pilsner-type glass, it is a deep purple, because it is a deep mouthful of blueberries. If you poured it into a wine glass, it would almost look like wine," he says. "We bring it to beer festivals and events, and people think it’s great; it’s like a little-known secret. It’s been out for over a year, but only in half-a-dozen markets." Wild Blue will certainly expand its range, but will likely continue to be targeted to a select connoisseur market, he predicts.
