Peaches & Cream (Short’s Brewing Company)

I was given this bottle by a friend with the warning that he found it too sweet to drink a full sixpack. I’m an adventurous beer drinker and I often like sweeter/fruitier beers that some of my friends don’t, so I figured I could handle this. Let’s see if I was right…

PEACHES & CREAM is a fruit beer from Michigan’s Short’s Brewing Company. They brewery calls it a Golden Ale, whereas Beer Advocate refers to it as a Fruit Beer. Regardless of the designation, this beer has a shockingly large 8.3% ABV and an equal surprisingly 43 IBUs.

Lemon Berry Shandy (Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co.)

I rolled into an Albertson’s one day after an afternoon full of salty foods and hoppy Double IPAs. I wanted more beer, but I needed something lighter as a change of pace. I found it in the form of a six-pack from the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company.

LEMON BERRY SHANDY is either a Shandy or a Fruit Beer, depending on where you look. Either way, it’s available year-round and comes with an easy-drinking 4.2% ABV.

Tweason’ale (Dogfish Head Craft Brewery)

The uniqueness with which they make their brews always draws me to Dogfish Head Craft Brewery. Be it unique ingredients or unique styles, their beers usually push the boundaries in one way or another. When I saw that they had made a sorghum-based beer I figured this would be the perfect beer to be my first gluten-free review.

TWEASON’ALE is a Fruit/Vegetable beer with a 6% ABV.

Smashed Blueberry (Shipyard Brewing Company)

I had recently purchased and consumed the Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin ale and I knew that I had to pick up the similarly titled SMASHED BLUEBERRY when I saw it on the shelf at my local beer store.

Another in their Pugsley Series, Smashed Blueberry is a fruit beer with a bigger than average 9% ABV.

Cabernale (Craftsman Brewing Company)

Craftsman Brewing Company is a tiny brewery ran out of a garage in Pasadena, California. They are well known in the L.A. beer scene because of the tasty and often times unique beers they brew. Often times the folks at Craftsman will brew specialty/seasonal/one-off beers and send them to the craft beer bars around Los Angeles county. This is one such brew.

Cabernale is a fruit beer brewed using Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from Paso Robles, California. This beer is brewed seasonally, depending on their grape shipments and has a middle of the road (between beer and wine) 7.5% ABV.

Kick (New Belgium Brewing)

New Belgium’s “Lips of Faith” series is hands down my favorite thing going in beer right now. Every single bottle I see I have to purchase. It doesn’t matter what style, it doesn’t matter the cost, I must have it. So when I saw KICK on the shelf at my local beer store (a Lips of Faith pumpkin ale?!?!) I knew I must have it.

Kick is a collaboration between New Belgium and Elysian Brewing. This fruit/vegetable beer 14 IBUs, 254 calories and a potentially troublesome 8.5% ABV.

Summer Shandy (Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co.)

SUMMER BEERS Day 3

I am a huge fan of lemonade, so obviously the shandy beer style is right up my alley (beer +lemonade = awesome). Today’s beer is Leinenkugel’s variation on the style in the form of their summer seasonal. Summer Shandy has an easy-drinking 4.2% ABV, a mere 130 calories per bottle and is available April-August. 

Wacko (Magic Hat Brewing)

SUMMER BEERS Day 2

Day 2 brings us another beer from Magic Hat Brewing Company’s summer seasonal mix pack. Wacko is a Fruit/Vegetable beer that is available April-July. This “Summer Beer” has a 4.5% ABV and a meager 15 IBUs. 

Blackberry Chaos (Bootlegger’s Brewery)

Review #3 is for a beer that I actually got for free! This was my first choice of the day, but sadly they didn’t have the beer ready. So, when I returned later in the day the beertender gave me a sample on the house. It definitely made up for the wait!

Blackberry Chaos is a variation of their standard Golden Chaos. The ABV for this beer was not listed…DUN DUN DUN!

Orange Blossom Amber (Indian Wells Brewing Company)

Orange Blossom Amber is a fruit beer from the Indian Wells Brewing Company.  This easy-drinking brew has a 5.5% ABV.