Beer of the Weekend #977: Berries & Barbs
The beer of the weekend is another fruity offering from the folks at one of my favorite breweries: Berries & Barbs, brewed by the Confluence Brewing Company of Des Moines, Iowa.
Serving type: 16-ounce can. “CANNED ON MAY/17/22” is printed on the bottom.
Appearance: Poured into a tulip. The color is lightly hazy gold. A finger of off-white, buttery, bubbly head dissipates quickly and leaves a spotted lacing and collar.
Smell: While pouring, I was reminded of Fruity Pebbles, Fruit Loops, or Trix. Mostly Trix, because it is what I have the most recent experience with. (Someone in the house went through a Trix phase recently.) It truly does smell like a bowl of fruit-flavored cereal with milk—and it is that artificial fruit scent, too. It is grainy, too, with a plain-wheat-bread-like aroma.
Taste: Berries, though not artificial; it tastes like a mix of strawberries and raspberries, though leaning more strawberry. In that way, it is akin to a strawberry smoothie. It is so much like a smoothie that I expect there to be tiny strawberry chunks or seeds in each sip. (Psych!) It is slightly tart, likely thanks to rhubarb, and the berry sweetness lingers on the taste buds and tonsils after each sip. It tastes much like the strawberry rhubarb cake The Foxy Lady had on her birthday this year, though maybe a touch tarter.
Fun facts about Berries & Barbs:
• Style: Blonde ale.
• Price: $12.99 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
• Alcohol content: 4.1 percent ABV.
• Here is the description via the brewery website and label:
• Along with being another fruity offering from Confluence, this is the second straight BotW that features an ampersand in the name. I was not a fan of the ampersand until I joined Twitter. It is simple, easy, and convenient when (previously) confined to 140 characters. I doubt I will use it outside of Twitter, though. (I believe it is used at times in AP style, but I have no need to use AP style right now. I have an AP Stylebook just in case, though it is five years old.)
The Quiet Man’s grade: B.
Serving type: 16-ounce can. “CANNED ON MAY/17/22” is printed on the bottom.
Appearance: Poured into a tulip. The color is lightly hazy gold. A finger of off-white, buttery, bubbly head dissipates quickly and leaves a spotted lacing and collar.
Smell: While pouring, I was reminded of Fruity Pebbles, Fruit Loops, or Trix. Mostly Trix, because it is what I have the most recent experience with. (Someone in the house went through a Trix phase recently.) It truly does smell like a bowl of fruit-flavored cereal with milk—and it is that artificial fruit scent, too. It is grainy, too, with a plain-wheat-bread-like aroma.
Taste: Berries, though not artificial; it tastes like a mix of strawberries and raspberries, though leaning more strawberry. In that way, it is akin to a strawberry smoothie. It is so much like a smoothie that I expect there to be tiny strawberry chunks or seeds in each sip. (Psych!) It is slightly tart, likely thanks to rhubarb, and the berry sweetness lingers on the taste buds and tonsils after each sip. It tastes much like the strawberry rhubarb cake The Foxy Lady had on her birthday this year, though maybe a touch tarter.
Fun facts about Berries & Barbs:
• Style: Blonde ale.
• Price: $12.99 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
• Alcohol content: 4.1 percent ABV.
• Here is the description via the brewery website and label:
Strawberries and rhubarb have teamed up for centuries to provide a beautiful marriage of sweet and tart in all manner of foods, from jams and jellies to cobblers and pies. Combining disparate elements in food can produce a depth of flavor that remains beautifully balanced in the end. At Confluence, we often approach beer with that mindset—trying to find a harmony between malt sweetness and hop bitterness, or rich chocolate and dry roastiness to create the most nuanced and approachable beers that we can. So, naturally, we needed to make a beer with one of the most classic opposing flavor combinations around. A blonde ale base provides a clean backdrop for the strawberries and rhubarb to shine, and the taste is just as good as it's always been. Sweet, jammy, and just a little tart, we think this is one of the most classic flavors of spring. So grab a pint and join us in raising a glass to the classics!
• Along with being another fruity offering from Confluence, this is the second straight BotW that features an ampersand in the name. I was not a fan of the ampersand until I joined Twitter. It is simple, easy, and convenient when (previously) confined to 140 characters. I doubt I will use it outside of Twitter, though. (I believe it is used at times in AP style, but I have no need to use AP style right now. I have an AP Stylebook just in case, though it is five years old.)
The Quiet Man’s grade: B.
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