by James Nevison
As the weather warms and the daylight hours lengthen, the timing is perfect for craft beer to get tropical, citrusy and salty.
A dding fruit to beer is a time- honoured brewing tradition. For example, consider the fruit lambics of Belgium. There would be no Kriek lambic without cherries added during fermentation, to say nothing of Framboise or Pêche beers. As we take a closer look at the new BC craft beers arriving on BCLIQUOR shelves this season, a few different—yet considered—fruity directions emerge. The fruit-influenced beers trending this season trend tropical, citrusy and salty. The timing couldn’t be better; beer getting a fruity overhaul for summer signals fantastic refreshment. Beer Gets Tropical Tropical fruit notes are no strangers to beer. It’s actually quite common for many types of hops to be profiled as imparting tropical fruit aromas. This has especially been true in many recent hazy pale ales and IPAs featuring hops such as Amarillo, Citra, Galaxy and Motueka. But along with tropical fruit associations provided by hops, brewers are turning to serious exotic influence from the direct addition of fruits like mango, papaya and guava. These tropical fruits present a nice complement to sour-style beers, amping up the refreshment quotient. Then there are brewers eliciting serious desert island vibes via pineapple and coconut. Case in point is Old Yale
Brewing Co.’s Pineapple Coconut Golden Ale. Part of their Trailblazer Series, the brewery complements a light and easy- drinking Golden Ale with pineapple and coconut. While the pineapple provides real tropical fruit influence, the coconut adds another interesting dimension. Increasingly, brewers are looking to coconut (in both raw and toasted form) to add nuttiness and a creamy body to their brews. The combination makes for a perfect companion for long, sultry summer nights! Beer Gets Citrusy It’s no secret that a touch of citrus can aid beer refreshment. As Exhibit A, consider the classic squeeze of lime into a bottle of Mexican lager. So why not take the next logical step and simply incorporate citrus into the beer? This is exactly what some local breweries have embraced. That said, the approach taken is quite varied. For example, Victoria’s Lighthouse Brewing opts to marry a classic local berry with some bright citrus in their Raspberry Lime Pilsner. A subtle, floral, hoppy note adds to the mix, though there is nothing subtle about the bright, palm tree-emblazoned label art or the raspberry-influenced hazy-red colour of this crisp, refreshing pilsner. The entire package—both figuratively and literally—screams “pour me during the dog days of summer.”
Or why not invoke associations with breezy, languid summer brunches? Total summer vibes abound in the seasonal release from Abbotsford and Chilliwack’s Field House Brewing: Sparkling Citrus Mimosa Sour. The brewery explains this ale was inspired by the lively brunch-time cocktail. There’s no messing around here: citrus comes from the inclusion of blood orange purée and cold-pressed tangerine peel oil, while white wine grape concentrate adds wine-like sophistication (not to mention a dry-hopped dose of Nelson Sauvin for additional fruity tones). Complex, yes, and simply delicious. Beer Gets Salty Summer really is gose’s time to shine. Gose, (pronounced gose-uh ) is a traditional German top-fermented wheat beer that almost went extinct in the mid-20 th century due to the outbreak of World War II and general lack of interest. Traditional gose was spontaneously fermented and tended towards slight saltiness and sourness thanks to its original water sources and the addition of coriander (and to be fair, the addition of sea salt was also not unheard of). While not a very typical beer style, given recent beer trends towards sour and unique, gose is certainly a beer worthy of inspiring modern brewmasters. Which is precisely what’s
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