Founders Rubaeus

Whew. Somehow I got out of bedtime storytime tonight, as Peanut wanted to read by himself. Sweet. I had just poured this. Founders Rubaeus. I've been looking forward to this since something like January, when it was announced that Founders would be replacing Cerise this year with this, a raspberry ale, all because the cherry harvest wasn't that great in Michigan last year. I'm a girl. I like fruit beers (mostly). Raspberries are some of my favorite fruit, if not actually my favorite fruit. I love a good raspberry ale, and this being a Founders offering, I'm all in for it. Let's see how it is.

It pours a deep garnet color with a fluffy light pink head. It's purty. Oh my, I want to swim in that aroma. It's pure, fresh Michigan raspberries. Let's have a sip. I just literally loudly proclaimed, "Oh my god. This is amazing."  Pure raspberries, fresh, tart and sweet simultaneously dominate the palate. There really isn't a lot else going on in this beer. It perfectly highlights the delicious taste of raspberries. I've really liked Southern Tier's raspberry ale and Thirsty Dog's, as well, but this is somehow just a semi-notch better than both of those. I'd love to compare this to Bell's raspberry ale, but we can't get that here in Ohio. The only thing it's comparable to, in my mind, is Cerise, only this is with raspberries instead of cherries. They have the same flavor profile, which is somewhere about amazing. It also reminds me a bit of a lighter version of Lindeman's Framboise. It's perfectly carbonated, and just a little sticky in the mouth and on the lips (yes, that's what she said).

This would be fantastic for making beer cocktails. This would be fantastic paired with, say, Southern Tier's Choklat or Young's Double Chocolate Stout. Like a black and tan, but this would be a black and pink. It would also be good in a raspberry beer-jito (mojito with beer instead of club soda). It's perfectly wonderful by itself, also, although I kind of want to use this in my raspberry sauce that I use on a dark chocolate torte. Yeah. Now you're hungry, aren't you?

5/5 caps

-Jennie

Now, mind you, as Jennie is ranting about the different recipes she would use this in, Alton Brown's "Good Eats" is on TV in the background. Drawing some inspiration, are you dear? And the cat just fell off the arm of the couch.... Such a bizarre night. Let's delve into this before the ghost of Hunter S Thompson speaks to me.

As Jennie put, this pours a garnet color, but by now, all the head has dissipated away into oblivion. The aroma on this is like sticking your face into a quart of fresh red raspberries. There's no sign of your typical beer ingredients (hops, malt, different characteristics of the yeasts, so on and so on). I took a sip and literally said 'Oh, wow'. Damn it. I don't want a fruit beer most of the time, but this changes my mind. This is nothing but raspberry flavor, like drinking straight juice. There's a bit of light carbonation to keep it crisp and clean. Combining that with the sweet and tart this beer has, I think this might be my favorite fruit beer.

5/5 caps

-Nathan-