A Bottle of Suds

Fruit beers to hold onto summer with

BY TOM FIRTH PHOTOS BY JASON DZIVER

Fruit-flavoured beers always get a little extra play around my house, I certainly enjoy one on a nice day, and my wife is pretty enthusiastic about certain fruits in her beer too. As harvest is upon us or right around the corner, we thought it fitting to share the good word about a few that might make those last few days of gardening a little more tolerable.

While there are numerable criteria for what fruit-added beers should be like, or how they are made, we are covering a few styles where added fruit is a significant ingredient, and the added benefit is that most of these beers are locally made.

Phillips Solaris White Peach Ale British Columbia

Lots of people reach for hazy wheat beers on a hazy summer day, and coupled with the incredible, refreshing power of peaches, Phillips brings the goods. Positively bursting on the nose with fresh peach aromas, in the mouth the peach flavour is perfect, evoking fresh, handpicked fruit with no sweetness. Damn good. CSPC +802542 (4x473mL) $14-16

Wild Rose Wraspberry Ale, Alberta

A well-loved locally made classic, Wraspberry is all about the fresh, tart flavour of real raspberries balancing a crisp ale. This is one of the original beers from way back when Wild Rose was one of the few craft breweries in the area (only in bombers!), and it’s essentially unchanged from those days. Why mess with perfection? CSPC +811383 (4x473mL) $14-16

Campio Brewing Albertosourus Tart Fruit Ale, Alberta

The newest (and fourth) brewery in the Bear Hill group, this is the only one in the lineup here that “looks” like it has a lot of fruit. An earthy, slightly cloudy raspberry colour, the “-Sourus” had me a little worried at first as it’s not my typical preference. Fears allayed completely though when enjoying the pressed-juiciness of the fruit with a rocking tartness and balanced sourness. Very nice to enjoy while minding the grill, don’t drink this too cold. CSPC +846078 (6x355mL) $15-17

Hard Knox MvP Mango Peach Pale Ale, Alberta

Piston Broke Raspbiscus Fruit Blonde Ale, Alberta

A very new brewery in Brooks, Alberta, Piston Broke has come out of the gate with some really well-made beers. A blonde ale with a little bit of extra colour, the flavours are raspberry with a touch of hibiscus, and managing to strike the right balance between smashable beer, tasty fruit, and a rather delicate touch with the hibiscus. Not too bad at all. Brewery primarily, (6x355mL) $15-17

Waterloo Watermelon Radler, Ontario

Weighing in at a kindly 2.5 percent alcohol, radlers are in essence a beer that has been cut back with something non-alcoholic. Watermelon is also a notoriously difficult flavour to get bang on, so hats off to Waterloo for giving it a shot. Lighter, easy flavours evoking just a bit of bubblegum, and the right sort of alcohol that won’t put you right to sleep after a hard day in the yard. CSPC +847829 (473mL can) $3-4 A hop, skip, and a jump away from South Calgary in Black Diamond, Hard Knox makes some of my local favourites especially when touring the countryside. The M.v.P. has its work cut out for it with the “mean” mango and the “sweet” peach supposedly fighting for dominance, but really, it’s more like a mango–peach BFF situation. Both fruits are fairly subtle, but definitely there and together offset a very nice core pale ale. Brewery primarily, (4x473mL) $14-16