Fruit beer is made by adding fruits to lambic-style beers, with Belgium being a major producer. Cherries and raspberries are popular choices, and overripe fruits are pierced to mix with the beer. Some brewers add spices and pureed fruits, but traditionalists believe it changes the taste completely. English ales are sometimes served with lemon or ginger, but brewers do not recommend adding these flavorings.
When fruit is added to beer to enhance the flavor of a beverage, the result is fruit beer. Typically, fruits are added to lambic-style beers. Lambic beer is made from unmalted wheat and malted barley and, due to this combination of ingredients, can be bitter. Fruits added to lambic work to counteract the bitter taste of the beer.
Fruit beer is brewed all over the world, although Belgium is recognized as one of the largest producers of fruit beer. Cherries and raspberries are often the fruit of choice for Belgian brewers, as these fruits are abundant throughout Belgium. The most popular Belgian cherry beer is called kriek, which is Flemish for “cherry.” Classic kriek has a distinct red hue and the flavor of this beer is sweeter.
As with some types of wine, cherries destined for a brewer’s barrel are left on the vine until overripe. Once the cherries have reached their ripest point, the skins are pierced to encourage the sugars and yeast within a beer to mix with the cherries. Fruits are added to beer barrels during the brewing process, which changes the makeup of a beer. The end result is a beer with a high alcohol concentration and a slightly sweet or dry taste.
In addition to the ever-popular cherry, oranges, raspberries, strawberries, peaches and blackcurrants are all used to create fruit beers. Some brewers add various spices to the beer in addition to fruit. A popular Belgian beer is brewed with coriander peel and curacao orange. A new and highly controversial method of adding fruit to beer involves importing fruit puree. As with whole fruits, pureed fruits are added to the beer during the brewing process.
Traditionalists believe that adding imported pureed fruit to beer changes the taste of a beer completely. Those opposed to this type of fruit addition compare pureed fruits to store-bought frozen ones. Regardless, a beer that has been enriched with fruit puree can still be sold as a fruit beer. Due to the fact that English ales tend to be strong in taste, bartenders in Britain offer customers lemon wedges or ginger chunks to accompany many British ales, and some people call this beer fruit, even though it’s not traditional. . While beer drinkers appreciate the added taste of lemon and ginger, brewers do not recommend adding these flavorings to beer, as any extra flavor tends to diminish the original taste of a beer.
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