Founders Rübæus - Founders Brewing Company

orbitalr0x

Illinois

4.13/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours from the stubby bottle with stylish raspberry artwork a deep dark purple with hints of red...yes I said purple. A volumious three finger light pink head of bubbly foam rises up and has great staying power. A nice fresh raspberry jam aroma greets me along with lemon and light grain tones. Sweet and inviting.

First sip brings a nice pale maltiness that is highly accentuated by a natural raspberry lemonade flavor. The raspberry is not overpowering melding well with warm yeast tones. Good interplay between sweet and bitter. A very enjoyable fruit beer that does a good job of not going too overboard with the fruit.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a rolling wall of dense carbonation. Quite effervescent. An easy drinking beer that would go down nicely poolside on a hot day. Another good one from Founders and a nice change of pace. Well worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2005 02:46:44 | More by orbitalr0x

Absumaster

Netherlands

3.43/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A murky brown, red beer with a creamy head.

Smell is very sweet and fruity with some light woody notes. Also a kind of artificial fruit smell.

Taste is slightly tart and fruity with sweet raspberries, which appear to be a little artificial. There is also a light woody taste that makes me think it will be from the seeds of the fruit. Mouthfeel is sweet and sticky. Aftertaste is sweet, but dry. Nearing the end, this beer is starting to become more like a kriek than an artificial, sweet fruit beer and drinkability improves.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2007 08:44:17 | More by Absumaster

DIM

Pennsylvania

3.8/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

a: This was a dull, muddied pink color. It poured with a whispy, soapy head that quickly faded to nothing.

s: Raspberry jam, not much else.

t: Here as well, just raspberries. They are tart with an edge of sweetness that never crosses over into cloying.

m: Pretty still, but it doesn't feel all that thin.

d: Makes for a nice dessert beer. One at a time for me though.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2008 11:44:17 | More by DIM

pootz

Ontario (Canada)

4.18/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bottle:

Poured a brilliant ruby colored ale in my stein...2 finger frothy pink cap...moderate carbonation..cap laces well signifying a good malt base in this brew.

Aroma was splendid...pungent floral- berry fruits and subtle grass and grain tones...very nice.

Slightly sweet up front but this lasts only a second as the tartness from the fruit and hops rush in to balance...although there is a big dose of bready malt here it rides in the shadow of the fresh berry fruit...and that’s not so bad...this leaves the impression of chewing a fresh warm biscuit smothered in raspberry preserve...no cloying in the delivery either...finishes wet and slow where the fruity tartness, woody hops and thick bready malts sort themselves out on the palate in a long finish...slightly bready after taste.

This is definately one of the most authoritative, freshest tasting fruit beers I have ever tasted....there is nothing synthetic about the ample berry flavors and it rides on a substantial malt spine to carry the whole thing off....well done!

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2006 23:29:31 | More by pootz

Phatz

Pennsylvania

4.3/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Appearance: Pours brown with hints of pink/ruby highlights and a tan head.

Smell: Aroma of fresh raspberries, with hints of chocolate and caramel as well.

Taste: Incredibly quaffable! This is so easy and approachable I would be hard pressed to find someone who does *not* like it. WOW. Very tasty tart raspberry juicy flavor balanced brilliantly with chocolate malts.

Mouthfeel: Sheer SILK! The dark fruit flavors just slide right through the palate from beginning to end so easily.

Drinkability: Heavenly. I want cases of this stuff. You would never guess it was nearly 7% ABV! Simply tasty easy drinking, fruit beer.

Hope this is helpful.
Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2006 05:01:57 | More by Phatz

mentor

Colorado

3.98/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bottle obtained from Beer Depot (Ann Arbor) and hand carried back here to Colorado. Consumed about 2 weeks later. Pours a thin layer of slightly pinked head over a crystal clear raspberry red liquid. Smells of fresh raspberries. Mostly like raspberry jelly (even has some peanut butter hints), but some woody and sour notes. Dash of ginger.

Tastes wonderfully raspberry. This is a raspberry drink rather than a beer with raspberry hints. Strong carb keeps the beer from being sweet and also lifts the flavors off the tongue, so it doesn't possess a persistent aftertaste. Raspberry has some woody and tannic hints which are likely the result of seeds in the brewing process. Touch of orange and some sourish, but not acidic sour like my raspberry homebrew sometimes comes out as. Aftertaste is the place where malt is most present, which isn't saying much. Bit of wheat and a bit of toasted character.

Md-light mouthfeel and strong carbonation. A well done raspberry beer, which can be quite hard to pull off.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2007 06:10:10 | More by mentor

nrbw23

Ohio

2.48/5  rDev -36.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

A- Pours a nice bright red color with a pinkish colored head that fell quickly leaving just a bubbly layer and little lacing.

S- Very very fruity. Raspberries raspberries and more raspberries.

T- Again very fruity and that's about all I could pick up. Not over powering just follow your nose.

M- Light to medium. Not too bad at all maybe a little dry to the finish

D- I suppose for the style its pretty nice just not me type of thing. Too fruity for me glad I got to try it.

Serving type: on-tap

05-13-2008 09:06:35 | More by nrbw23

philbe311

Pennsylvania

3.93/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A - Translucent cranberry red... Slight fizzy head... Nice lacing... Coats glass well... Ever so slight carbonation...

S - Obviously the raspberries are first and foremost... Slight hints of honey and salt... Reminds me of a fresh jelly donut...

T - Sweet but tart... Raspberries, balsamic vinegar undertones, cherry licoroise, and salt... Fruit taste realistic and not artificial...

M - Thick for a fruit beer... Lush... Silky smooth... Puckering... Very rich... A little more carbonation would add to the majesticness of the brew...

D - Aggressive fruit blended brew... A little much, but still very enjoyable... One or two of these on occasion wouldn't be a bad thing... Easy drinking...

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2008 02:42:23 | More by philbe311

granger10

Wisconsin

4.05/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

This summer offering from Founder's really surprised me. Fruit beers are usually not too great and they are usually either super sweet or super tart, balance is not what I think of when I think of fruit beers. But this had it. Pours an amberish, pinkish girly looking color. A few bubbles to the top with a fizzy pink head. Lots of lacing though. Aroma is all raspberries, I can't get past the raspberries, they smell really fresh though. Taste starts out a little sweet, too sweet but it's not all raspberry sweetness. There's a malty sweetness in there that pushes the envelope a little too much. Right when I'm ready to write this one off though a nice super tart flavor hits me which is most definitely the raspberries in their full effect. A yeasty, alcohol dryness finishes this beer off. Great complexity and balance but I still liked their Raspberry Pale Ale on tap a little better.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2005 16:27:00 | More by granger10

far333

Connecticut

3.83/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3

Beet/pomegranate colored with a purplish head that rises up quickly and sinks down low. Sweet and tangy aroma of raspberry. Flavor is a sweet and tangy raspberry right upfront, with a dry sweet-tart finish. Raspberry flavor lingers long on the palette. Mouthfeel is full and creamy, very satisfying, with a crisp finish. I'm having trouble picking out any other flavors, the raspberry is so all-encompassing. Tasty beer, but a bit low on the drinkability scale for me due to the shock and awe of the raspberry flavor throughout the glass. Thanks to BuckeyeNation for sharing.

Serving type: bottle

10-14-2005 22:46:56 | More by far333

pmcadamis

Illinois

2.9/5  rDev -25.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

I shared this one with my fiance since she loves the fruity stuff...

A - Deep rhubarb red with watermelon highlights. This is a beautiful shade of deep red that has a lot of different hues showing through. The head is a pink and fluffy cap that eventually goes away leaving a ring of bubbles around the collar. A net of fine lace slides down the glass.

S - Smells like a bowl of fresh raspberries with sugar piled on top. Reminds me a bit of Lindemans framboise, but without the acidity. I can detect a small amount of hops pulling through, which I really appreciate in a category that can be all about the fruit and not the beer.

T - Sour apple and tart raspberry are the first flavors to touch the tongue, along with a vague funky sour note. Again, hops show through and make this more of a beer lover's fruit beer than a girly candy treat. This has a neat funky earthy almost moldy mushroomy aspect that makes it a bit of balance, but does add some complexity.

M - Light bodied with some moderate carbonation. A bit slick and sugary.

D - A pretty good fruit beer that has a lot of complex and unique flavors. It's no lambic, but it's a decently drinkable fruit beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2007 20:39:18 | More by pmcadamis

brewcrew76

Wisconsin

3.78/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - A hazy rhubarb color with an explosion of pink foam everywhere. This one has quite the head on it. It is real bubbly in the beginning almost like champagne.

S - All raspberries in this one, a little tart, some malt aroma, not sweet or syrupy at all.

T - Starts of as sweet raspberry and then quickly transitions to tart raspberries and a slight bitterness. Slight malt backbone through the whole thing. It leaves quite an after taste.

M - Just like champagne. Crisp and very bubbly/carbonated with a very dry finish.

D - A good fruit beer that would probably be even better on a hot day.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2006 02:07:50 | More by brewcrew76

aasher

Indiana

4.45/5  rDev +14.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I grabbed the last four pack the store I work at had. The four pack is at least three years old.

Appearance: pours light, is a light crimson in color, off white head with hints of pink in the foam, translucent and not very cloudy

Smell: smells great, of tart raspberries, light and crisp, not very sweet. smells just like a raspberry tart.

Taste: tastes of tart raspberries and is not overly sweet, slightly malty, is dry and appealing, delicious. it tastes like a raspberry tart.

Mouthfeel: very light bodied, very crisp and well carbonated

Drinkability: extremely drinkable. I've had this beer before but this is top notch aged. I'd greatly recommend grabbing a bottle from someone if any remain. It's too bad this is retired.

Serving type: bottle

07-01-2010 17:04:52 | More by aasher

Frozensoul327

Michigan

4.65/5  rDev +19.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Damn, this beer near killed me when I opened it. A loud pop like a .22 rimfire. Don't know why or how. Anyway, so upon pouring, the carbonation rears it's head and i'm left with 4 inches of foam, and 1 inch of beer. Ok... Um, this is different. Finally it cooled off and I was able to pour it and really get into it. Dark raspberry red color with high carbonation. Major foamy head was present. Aromas of raspberries and some malt with a touch of sweet alcohol. Taste is exceptional. Right up a the fruit beer alley; flavors of raspberries, strawberries, malt, sweet hops and alcohol blend in fantastic harmony. Tartness is present yet not overpowering, adding to the presentation of the flavors. Sour finish is smooth and slightly warming. Mouthfeel is light and airey, not watery or sticky like some other fruit beers. This beer has a high level of drinkability, as this could be enjoyed year round, but more so in the summer. Highly recommended beer for this unique style. If you want raspberries in your beer, look to this, not a rasberry eisbock.

Serving type: bottle

10-03-2005 01:32:28 | More by Frozensoul327

UnionMade

Colorado

4.1/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Huge thanks to UncleFlip for the bottle, as part of his way-too-generous beer trade. I understood it was his last one, too. Quite a guy.
Pours a hazy, muted rose color, topped with a pale mauve head. The head erupts violently upon pouring, foaming up to the top of the glass with less than an inch of liquid at the bottom. I finally got all the bottle's contents in a tumbler, with a mountain of pale mauvey-pink erupting out of the glass. Whew! Holds a ton of lace, however, sticking in sheets. Great retention, fed by furiously rising streamers of carbonation.
Pungent raspberry in the nose, more tart than sweet, with a backing of wheaty, slightly sour malt. Some toastiness.
The flavor begins with softer maltiness, helped along by initially sweetish raspberry. Pleasant fruitiness, not overbearing. It shares dominance with the malt. Unlike most fruit beers, this brew actually has some body and presence. Raspberry flavors become a bit tart into the finish. Real raspberry, all the way down to that wierd sharp tartness of the seeds. Some wheaty sourness, and a slight alcohol burn in the back of my throat. An odd kind of tart prickliness in the swallow, too. Charged carbonation, relatively full bodied. Very smooth, with a pleasantly dry finish.
Pretty good, especially for being a fruit beer. Fruit flavor isn't overbearing, and the tartness of the raspberries only works with the beery qualities. I'd had this beer on my radar for a bit, and I have to thank Uncle Flip again for sending it to me. I like Founders' brews, and I had to see what they did with a fruit beer. Everything I expected. Good stuff.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2005 03:04:40 | More by UnionMade

sholland119

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A very tasty fruit beer. Looks like a glass of rose, smells tart with a bit of raspberry. Tastes moderately sweet but not overdone, with a nice balance of tartness. Mouthfeel is very drying. Quite drinkable.

This is a very nice beer for the style. A great balanced taste.

HV

Serving type: bottle

06-24-2008 23:42:35 | More by sholland119

david131

Michigan

3.88/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A- Pours a deep red/ pink clear liquid. A small spritzy head forms and quickly falls to a small ring of lace around the top of the liquid.

S- Fresh raspberies. Not very heavy smelling, just a light aroma of raspberries.

T- Oh yeah, just how it should be. The raspberry flavor is great, it even has that raspberry tartness. There is just a slight bit of breadiness. Sweet then tart. Balanced very well. Not a lot of depth, but very tasty.

M- Just the right amount of carbonation gives a light, sweet, and slightly sticky mouthfeel.

D- I found this to be a very unique, but very tasty beer. I will have this one on my mind for quite awhile I think. Worth a try for sure.

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2007 01:16:25 | More by david131

DaPeculierDane

Wisconsin

2.8/5  rDev -28.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Wild carmine pours like an eddy in a glacial river in a gully during the peak of summer. Wild torrents of bubbles spew forth. This is one of the most wild pouring brews I have ever seen. The bottle should have a warning label printed on it that says, “Pour really slowly into a really big glass,” because this brew explodes all over the place.

Smells kinda like cough syrup mixed with raspberry Kool-Aid and boatloads of NutraSweet.

Tastes pretty mediocre, very medicinal and too sweet, false, with too little fruit or substance.

Mouthfeel is thin and artificial.

Drinkability is fine but nothing special.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2006 04:00:05 | More by DaPeculierDane

number1bum

Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I stole this bottle from a box intended for my brother, his beer winnings courtesy of mymrrnngjkt courtesy from our fantasy baseball league. I've had Blushing Monk so I had to try this one, too.

Pours a bright reddish color with one finger of pinkish/ivory head. Head settles to just a thin lace.

Smells like raspberries and not much different than Blushing Monk, really. Nice, clean, fresh raspberry aroma.

Taste is a bit more tart than the smell, with plenty of raspberry flavor with some light sweetness and some sourness. There is some earthy bitterness through the finish. Mouthfeel is medium, with a crisp carbonation.

For a fruit beer this is quite good. I like the raspberries, and if I had to choose a fruit beer this would be toward the top of my list. It's just like Blushing Monk but not as strong; a perfect little brother.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2008 02:39:55 | More by number1bum

SaCkErZ9

Florida

3.83/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Thanks go out to hoppymeal for this one.

After dispensing the beverage into a pint glass, I read some recent reviews to see if my experience mirrored that of others on this site. However, my experience didnt :( Poured a hazy, amber color with nothing but foam. My first pour evicted one inch of beer and 5 inches of head. After waiting 4 or 5 minutes, the head dissipated slightly and I was able to fit another two ounces in the pint glass. Finally, after about 10 minutes, I was able to fit all of the beer in the glass. I am not sure if this one got infected or what, but there is WAY too much carbonation here.

Aroma was pleasant and sweet. Definitely raspberry in the nose. Smells tart yeat sweet, like a raspberry tart. Other than the raspberry, not much going on. However, I did enjoy the aroma.

Quite tart tasting. Actually, very tart. I enjoy some tartness in a beer every now and again. I enjoy most lambics and this seems like it could fit in that category quite easily. Lots of raspberry. Somewhat sweet as well.

I enjoyed this beer. I had not idea what to expect but was pleasantly surprised. Besides the excessive foam, this was a pretty good beer. Dry in the finish and a little overcarbonated. Certainly a good summertime beer. Very enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2007 22:42:00 | More by SaCkErZ9

Cresant

Kentucky

3.68/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 3 | smell: 5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured this 12 oz. undated bottle into a pint glass. Achieved no head. Body was a flat cranberry red/mauve/brown. Rich and nearly opaque.

Smell was fantastic. Fruity raspberry sweetness.

Taste was tart raspberry. Non-cloying. Malts peeked through but primarily this tasted like a nice alcoholic raspberry soda. Alcohol taste was very minimal but I did feel it's presence. It tasted great, but not really beer-like. This is my first fruit beer so it is a bit difficult to review within the style.

Mouthfeel was solid medium bodied with minimal carbonation. i would not want more than one.

Interesting offering but not one I will likely buy again.

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2006 01:20:15 | More by Cresant

Wildman

Ohio

3.63/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This beer poured a reddish amber color and formed a huge foamy pink head that left trace lace as it subsided. A small amount of carbonation is present. An aroma of hops and heavy aroma of raspberries. The flavor is dominated by raspberries and very tart. The body is medium and light and finish is tart with a slightly astringent finish.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2008 20:48:25 | More by Wildman

PittBeerGirl

Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A- Perfectly transparent dark rose body that pours with thin 1/2 finger foamy white head. Head almost instantaneously fades to a collar which holds the whole way down. Little to no lacing is left behind in the glass.

S- The nose is overpowered by a rush of tart raspberries. Sweet and sugary raspberries are present in the background.

T- Dry raspberry upfront with a sweet bready malt backbone. The raspberry becomes quite tart for the finish and the subtle malt backbone disappears for a moment. What lingers is a nice combination of tart raspberry and sweet malt.

M-Medium to high carbonation and light spritzy body-somewhat champagne like.

D- This is a good fruit beer and is surprisingly similar to both Great Divide and Celis Raspberry. Good for one drink but not something I'd like to have more than one of. I might pick this up when I find it again (not available in my area).

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2007 16:55:03 | More by PittBeerGirl

AltBock

Ohio

3.38/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12 oz. stubby bottle with a simple good drawing of a raspberry bush up close. You can see all the plump raspberries growing on it. On the top of the label is you'll find Founders' notched bottling code. Mine was in the top right hand corner. Whatever that means. It's capped with a twist off cap.

When poured into a Stoudt's pint glass, I didn't expect this beer to a solid raspberry red. I expected this beer to be a red color, but not a raspberry red color. On top of this raspberry colored beer was a thin and fizzy head of white foam. I noticed that sometimes even the head of foam had a small tint of red in it. This head of foam quickly fizzled away, but did manage to leave behind a handful of red foamy rings. It didn't bother to leave any lace behind, but I still liked the color of this beer.

The aroma was heavy on the juicy red raspberries. The only other aroma in this beer was a small amount of malted wheat. That is it, just red raspberries and malted wheat.

The taste was nothing but lightly sour and tart red raspberries. No malted wheat or hops, just the red raspberries. If there was anything else in this beer, then the strong raspberrries would have covered them up completely.

The mouthfeel was light with a creamy aftertaste of (you guessed it) red raspberries. Also in the mouthfeel was alot of carbonation.
The carbonation even seemed quite high for a fruit beer.

If you like drinking alcoholic red raspberry juice, then you'll really like this beer. If you want something with a little more variety, then you better go somewhere else.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2008 17:07:00 | More by AltBock

SpeedwayJim

New York

3.85/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Courtesy of capra12 via a 9AM 3 hour beer run to Philly from NY. Poured from a 12oz. bottle into a Surly pint glass.

A: Vigorous pour yields a .5 finger head with bad retention. Brew is a clear bright red. Lacing is stringy but surprisingly ample.

S: Simple and clean. Raspberries. Juicy (as in ripe and as in "smells like juice"). There's also a subtle and weird apricot somewhere in there.

T: Opens sweet with a nice subtle tartness. A bit rough around the edges at times with a slight bitterness like when you bite into a seed. Raspberries are very prominent and dominate the rest of the flavors but its nicely balanced.

M: Light to medium bodied, slightly coarse and rather carbonated. Watery and finish is messy with a sweet tartness that linger a bit.

D: I like this one for its simplicity and the body makes it more drinkable than it should be. However, I wouldn't go out of my way for this one because of lack of complexity and character.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2010 03:53:45 | More by SpeedwayJim