Summer Fruit Beers #9

STATS
  • Country: Belgium
  • Style: Fruit Beer
  • ABV: 3.6%
  • Serving Type: 330ml Bottle
  • Price: Slightly Pricey

I thought I was done with fruit beers until next summer, and then Moon Dog, a local Melbourne brewery, released their Magnificent Mullet range of fruit beers (reviews to follow shortly), which have once more piqued my interest in fruit beers.

The Floris range of fruit beers is made by Brouwerij Huyghe, a name that will not be familiar to most beer drinkers. The best beer produced by this brewery, Delirium Tremens, is known worldwide as being one of the very best! It won the worlds best beer in 2008! Delirium Tremens is named after a severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome, somewhat ironically. The Floris beers are fruit beers with a wheat beer base, it’s an idea that’s intrigued me so lets drink this!

Floris Passion looks like a normal beer to the average beer drinker. It pours a nice golden colour with some impressive bubble streams rising to a small brilliant white head. There is some sediment, I imagine from the wheat in the beer, that has settled at the bottom. The beer looks more like a lager than a fruit beer, so if you are somewhat put off by appearances this may be the introductory fruit beer you’ve been looking for, hopefully it tastes good too…

As you first pop the cap on this beer you are instantly assaulted by a strong passionfruit aroma. The passionfruit seems to be natural, not artificial smelling, and this is a good thing as passionfruit is pretty much the only thing this nose has to offer. It does however showcase both sweet and sour elements of the fruit, which hopefully means this is a well balanced fruit beer.

If you are reading this review as you are just about to start this beer all I can say is I hope you like passionfruit! Initially when you taste this beer there is a brilliant sweet passionfruit flavour, which is balanced by a tartness which comes from not only the passionfruit but also some apple flavour. The sourness provides the perfect balance to the sweet refreshing flavour of the passionfruit, when combined with a healthy carbonation it’s pretty close to the perfect summer fruit beer!

Brouwerij Huyghe don’t do things by half measures! This beer is fantastic at showcasing the passionfruit. It blends the natural sweetness of the fruit with a tart element, which makes this one of the easiest drinking fruit beers out there! This is probably my favourite of the fruit beers reviewed so far and is one that I will be buying again. You should too!

Remember it’s always Beer O’Clock somewhere in the world!