by Ryan LaMere

The advent of the beer odyssey has proven that we as a species are determined to jam everything we can into beer and see how it tastes. To that end, we’ve been stuffing various ingredients in beer to enhance the flavor since our relationship with brewing began. Whether it's cookies, candy, cheesecake, peanut butter—various adjuncts have been applied to the brewing process to emulate these flavors.  It is safe to say we've turned brewing on its head a few times over by now. 

Probably the most popular food we’ve put in beer is fruit. It’s an ingredient that has always been available in some form across the world. And in adding fruit, we've developed some incredible beverages. Lambics and Radlers are favorite styles to emerge from this experimentation.

Let's start, though, with Samuel Smith Brewing. Samuel Smith brews organic fruit beer at the ancient Melbourn Bros’ All Saints Brewery in Stamford, England—a small steam-powered brewery tucked under the shadow of the 14th century All Saints Church in the heart of Stamford.

The old brewing equipment has been carefully maintained and restored over generations to brew genuine handcrafted organic fruit beers since 1758. Using techniques refined over the centuries, their lager is mixed with organic fruit juice to create beers of considerable flavor. Whether it's cherry, strawberry, raspberry or apricot, Samuel Smith’s fruit beers hit the spot and are organic as a bonus!

Radlers are beers with 1:1 or 3:2 mixture of beer and lemonade or other citrus flavored sodas. The term Radler originates with a drink called “Radlermass” which means "cyclist liter" that was originally created by Innkeeper Franz Kugler in the small town of Deisenhofen, just outside Munich.

In 1920s Germany, there was a sudden surge in cycling as a hobby. Kugler created a bicycle trail from Munich though a scenic patch of woods that led directly to his drinking establishment. On a random day in June 1922 a reported 13,000 cyclists found themselves at Kugler's inn. Fast running out of beer, he blended it 50/50 with a lemon soda he could never seem to get rid of, and so was born the beloved Radler.

Stiegl is a fan favorite with flavors like grapefruit, raspberry and lemon.

A popular up-and-comer is Two Pitchers brewing with their fruited Nordic lager as well as their grapefruit and blood orange Radler.

Lost Forty has a popular lemon Radler during the summer as well. Additionally, Athletic, an all non-alcoholic brewery, does a no-alcohol Radler for the summer. Eggenberg is also a solid choice with grapefruit and lemon.

Lambic is a type of Belgian beer brewed with raw wheat and wild yeast in wooden casks and fermented for at least a year. It’s an ancient union of beer, fruit and the whims of nature whose unique brewing process gives a distinct flavor profile. A well-aged lambic will yield unique tasting notes. They are vinous, fruity, musty, acetic and lactic all at once, with other minor players mingling about.

Lambics come in many forms but here we want to talk briefly about the fruited lambics.

The practice of fruiting lambics most likely came about from the simple philosophy of frugality and using everything readily available. Contrasting sour-sweet flavors are match made for lambics. Lindeman's is an almost ubiquitous lambic brand. We have 4 packs of strawberry and raspberry as well as variety 4 packs with raspberry, cherry, apple and peach. I've yet to have one that wasn't enjoyable and refreshing.

A bonus fruit beer is Tepache Sazon Pina y Canela (pineapple and cinnamon). Tepache is a fermented fruit beverage from Mexico, similar to but with distinct differences from kombucha. The main difference is that black or green tea is typically the base for kombucha while tepache’s base is fruit. Surprisingly strong at 7% ABV, Tepache Sazon is truly another delicious bubbly fruity concoction. Full of fresh pineapple, apple cider, and cinnamon flavors, this bubbly concoction is something truly unique and special.

Fruit and beer have always walked hand-in-hand. What started as an exercise in tradition and frugality has continued to modern innovation of new flavor profiles in beer. Whether sweet or sour, you can find a new favorite in this ever-growing category. There has never been an easier time to eat your fruits and drink them as well!