Fruit the Beer?

[boogielicious]

When I was young I never saw or heard of anyone putting fruit in beer or even having fruit flavored beer.  Perhaps my father's choice of beer, Schaefer, Schlitz, Red White & Blue, etc, was a bit limited.  Then came Corona with a lime.  Now Shock Top with orange is out and a whole bunch of flavored beer.

I would like to know what the fine members of The Sand Trap think on this subject.  Plus, it's a crappy winter and there is nothing else to really think about except shoveling up here in the Great White North.

[David in FL]

Unless you wear a skirt, hell no! No more than cola belongs in the same glass as good whiskey.....

[GolfLug]

GASP! NO!!!!

Well, ok, to each their own, but really????

[RussUK]

Depends, if its on a hot day a nice bottle of Fosters Citrus is nice, or a bottle Rekorderlig cider. If im out on the lash (rare these days) i stick to spirits orthe odd real ale

[GolfLug]

Plus, it's a crappy winter and there is nothing else to really think about except shoveling up here in the Great White North.

OTT - Remember those days from when I lived up in Nashua valley 15 years ago. Winter of 97-98 was a brute but what you are getting now is staggering. Hang in there..

[DaveP043]

As I read once on the label of a fine pale ale....Water, Barley, Yeast, Hops, and THAT'S ALL

[Golfingdad]

I'll put lime in a Corona and I'll put an orange slice in a Blue Moon, sure.

Otherwise, no.

(Not a big drinker of beer - or any other alcohol, for that matter.  Very, very occasionally only.)

[Patch]

I think fruit goes better with some wines. I drink a lot of domestic brands of beer, and have never considered putting any fruit in it. However, I have drank some of that Sam Adams stuff with fruit in it. It's not bad, but I prefer my beer straight.

[Yukari]

I never understood why some people like to put fruit in their beer. I tried it but didn't like it. I prefer taste of beer itself

[saevel25]

I'll put lime in a Corona and I'll put an orange slice in a Blue Moon, sure.

Otherwise, no.

(Not a big drinker of beer - or any other alcohol, for that matter.  Very, very occasionally only.)

Ditto. I am more a fan of the Blue Moon over Corona's. I maybe get a Blue Moon a handful of times a year. I prefer dark beers, and I wouldn't dare put a fruit in them.

[billchao]

I'm not a fruit in beer guy, either. My beer of choice is usually an IPA. [quote name="David in FL" url="/t/80046/fruit-the-beer#post_1104950"]No more than cola belongs in the same glass as good whiskey.....[/quote]I was a bartender for several years and I've never seen anyone request cola with a "good" whiskey ;-)

[iacas]

I don't even like beer, really. Nor most alcohols. So… fruit in beer actually sounds okay to me, if only because beer alone tends to be blech.

[Gipper]

I like Shocktop with an Orange..... I have been mocked for it but I like it.

[Gunther]

F**k no, never. Edit: sorry, long week in DC. Sittin at Dulles gettin a little sauced; hence, my exaggerated outrage and subsequent foul language.

[MKPKR]

I don't have any factual evidence to back this up, just a thought.  But I think fruiting of the beer has been a more recent trend with the heavy influx of craft beers the last few years.  I don't know that it was ever supposed to go in the glass with the beer though.  Leave it on the side.  The theory may be that when you take a drink you inhale through your nose.  As a result the scent of the fruit goes into your nose enhancing the citrus flavors of the beer.

Now this isn't really applicable if we are talking about dropping a lime in you Carona or Bud Light, just more with the craft beers.

[colin007]

I've had beers flavored with blueberries, strawberries, apples, peach, as well as notes of chocolate, coffee, honey, caramel, vanilla. It can be very varied and muy deliciosa.

[Chilli Dipper]

Fruiting a beer is done for two reasons. 1: The line wedge in the neck of the Corona (or the cheap, clear-bottled cerveza of your choice) is there to cover up the off-flavored that are likely present. The hop oils in beer degrade when exposed to direct sunlight: that's how beer becomes skunky, and why any high-quality beer comes in brown bottles. 2: The orange slice on a glass of Blue Moon (or lemon on some other wheat beer) began as an attention-grabbing garnish. The point was for people to be intrigued enough by the fruited pint they saw on the other side of the bar, and order a beer more expensive than their $2 Bud Light. The acid from the fruit also cuts through the thick heads of wheat beers, but whether or not that is a benefit is up to you. Either way, fruiting beer is inessential. Personally, I wouldn't order a Corona in the first place. On the other hand, I think that complaining about the garnish on a pint of wheat beer is a prime example of beer snobbery.

[colin007]

Both Blue Moon and Shocktop have a weird celery aftertaste to me, I think they're gross.