All Things Tropical

To be frank, there are a TON of fruit beers on the shelves these days. Fruit beer is not new, and I believe I wrote back in 2007 or 08 about fruit and vegetables as adjuncts and additions in brewing. Further, not to say that adding fruit, vegetables, or the essence of either is a new trend in the beer world; it is not. Belgian brewers especially have been adding all types of things to their beer for ages.
Like never before, the numbers of “inclusion” beers are beginning to match the standard, non-addition types. Doing a glance across the shelf, I’m almost seeing a 1 to 1 ratio of classic styles (brown ale, bock, IPA, stout, etc.) to beers with ingredients added (coffee, chocolate, orange zest, relish).
While I have sampled some of the finest ‘beers with additions’ in the land, these tend toward the sweet and savory types, and I am no stranger to vanilla or cocoa insertions in excellent brews. But in the past, many of the fruit or vegetable-specific added beers just weren’t very good, and some were downright awful.
Lately, a turn toward the more tropical fruits has been a trend. Whereas, before, some brewers or bars would suggest a lemon or orange slice added to a freshly poured pint, now citrus was being used in the mix. And especially prevalent in the last few seasons has been the introduction of pineapple beer, something I don’t recall even as recent as the early 2010’s.
When reviewing a fruit beer, it never hurts to refer to the BJCP; The Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) says it best: “The fruit should compliment the original style and not overwhelm it. The brewer should recognize that some combinations of base beer styles and fruits work well together while others do not make for harmonious combinations.”
While I’ve seen pineapple hefeweizen, saison and pale ale, the larger numbers fall with the IPA category. I have now tried three, and although I began with high hopes, I can’t say I came out jazzed. One offered no pineapple; another was almost just fruit juice.
Yet I persevered and tried what I expected to be the best of the lot, Ballast Point’s Pineapple Sculpin. The base IPA was a revelation when I tried it years back. I really enjoyed the grapefruit version, although I was torn between the two, and slightly preferred the standard. And 2-3 sips of the Habanero Sculpin were pleasurable before my lips began to sting and heartburn crept into my gut; I couldn’t finish the pint. But Pineapple Sculpin, that will be the winner, right?
Sadly, I rate it at a 6-7 out of 10, with Sculpin originally garnering a 9 and grapefruit an 8. The sweet, almost creamy pineapple flavor really clips the zing from the base beer, and not for the better. Sculpin is an excellent IPA because it’s well made and damn hoppy. Pineapple loses too much of the IPA-ness, while not going for a ‘juicy pineapple rush’ to compensate.
Kudos to the craft beer community for its continuing creativity, an interest to venture beyond style borders, and to further the addition-game. Not all releases work, but you gotta love the effort. Enjoy the brews…Cheers.
Gene’s Haufbrau has at more than 200 beers in bottles or on tap. While they don’t have every beer the Beer Snob writes about, they probably have most. Gene’s is located at 817 Savannah Hwy. 225-GENE. E-mail the Beer Snob at publisher@westof.net