Strawberry beer. Oh dear. The back of the bottle reads:
Brewed in Belgium for VAN DIEST BEER COMPANY London, England.Oh dear, oh dear. There is a list of ingredients and it is describes itself as "high quality Belgian white beer blended with pure fruit juice." In the past this has meant something wonderful like this Floris honey beer but it has also meant something less wonderful like this 1.5% pineapple lambic.
This 4.1% beer pours cloudy rose, that pinky brown of real wild strawberry jam as opposed to the colour of lipstick named "strawberry". Now, people will give a fruit beer like this a bad name, especially one where there is merely fruit juice added as opposed to a fermentation with fruit. But I have grown strawberries. I have had about 125 plants on the go at one time so I have smooshed handfulls in my mouth when no one was watching. And they have a twiggy taste with the fruit and are not all sweetness and light. This beer has that, too. It is drier than I would have imagined as well. The use of hops giving a good woodsy note along with the refreshing tang of the white beer.
This is one of the more successful novelty brews of this type I have had. Still, more than a quarter of the BAers are against it. Hey, it is apparently made by Brouwerji Huyghe in Melle, Belgium makes of the Floris line. Maybe this is just otherwise branded Floris Fraise? That however apparently only has 3%.
Comments
Neil - August 21, 2006 5:54 PM
I agree this is a fantastic fruity beer. I've tried a few alternatives but am yet to find one as good as this.
If you appreciate it too, join our group at http://groups.myspace.com/fruli
Alan - August 21, 2006 6:57 PM
And I thought I had a niche interest.
Neil Smith - September 15, 2006 1:55 PM
In fact we love it that much we have started a website about it... Join the fruli revolution at www.frulibeer.com.
Lets get fruity!
Alan - September 15, 2006 3:44 PM
I saw a stash of it at the LCBO in Kingston yesterday, too.
CaroleBersantie - September 26, 2006 6:34 PM
I dont care what colour it is or what percentage it is,all that interests meis the fgact that ilove it!!! I have never seen it for sale other than in retaurants though, doesanyone know where i can purchase some please. Caz x
Tim - October 11, 2006 6:37 PM
Love the stuff - but haven't tried the bottles yet... which are available from www.beersofeurope.co.uk
Dan - December 5, 2006 7:01 PM
You will soon be able to buy it from the unofficial fruli site, http://www.frulibeer.com - please sign up to the newsletter to hear about the information first!
On the site, you'll also be able to find where sells fruli, see fruli trails and be able to share your appreciation of your favourite strawberry fruit beer!
Mike Coats - March 18, 2007 9:46 PM
We really need it available to us in the States. Right now there's no answer but to either order a case by freigh from Toronto (about 20x more expensive than buying it IN toronto I think) or to pack extra bottles in your bags after a trip to London.
I don't trust unscrupulous customs agents at the airport not to go through my bags and confiscate it for themselves, so I regret that I didn't bring back a few bottles from last UK trip.
sigh. missing the fruli
Stonch - March 19, 2007 9:19 AM
Yes, this stuff is very frequently seen in London pubs, and has been around for a while now. When I first introduced my ex-girlfriend to beer, she like Fruli, but soon discovered the delights of proper Belgian fruit beers like those from Liefmans. Fruli's not one I rate, but it's a fun beer that helps people understand the diversity that's out there in the beer world.
Knut Albert - March 19, 2007 12:29 PM
Maybe I'm old and grumpy, but I feel this disgustingly sweet beverage belongs in the alcopop end of the market. I had an even nastier dayglo green Cactus beer the last time I was in Brussels. Having one (good) beer too many earlier in the evening had clouded my judgement, but my taste buds jolted me awake!
Jakeyfox - May 16, 2007 7:58 AM
Man, that was disgusting - fizzy, way too sweet and ridiculously expensive £3.80 a pint in a slug and lettuce. A friend and I had it as our first beer of the night and we instantly felt quite ill. It wasn't until a couple of hours later and a few more pints of proper beer that we felt better, fruli nearly ruined my night! ITS NOT RIGHT!
Phil - February 20, 2011 9:13 AM
Alan,
Thanks for the blog post, Fruli is alive and well, brewing more than ever and shipping it further and further afield - it's been available in Canada through liquor store chain, and available from Paulana USA for a couple of years.
We're still using massive amounts of Strawberry juice, as we always have and will carry on for as long as people still love this beer.
Just a quick note, we have a new official site http://fruli.be - all the fan sites, and dodgy URL's are falling away - we really want our customers to be able to get to the right source of info, which will be at the site above as well as the Facebook Page http://facebook.com/frulibeer.
Thanks again Alan for the post, and everyone for your comments.
all of us at Fruli.
Eileen - May 1, 2012 6:37 PM
Does anyone know the carb. count?
Janice Rowlison - November 11, 2012 11:16 PM
Fruli is the best beer that I have ever had! So refreshing! I can't wait to find a local store to buy it in! I love it!