Founders Rübæus - Founders Brewing Company

engisch

New Jersey

1.93/5  rDev -50.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 1

I usually really enjoy drinking Founder's brews. This is the first exception. I have seen this in 4-packs all over the place, and I have been meaning to pick one up, but this was the first time I have seen it on tap (at the Tally Ho in Bethlehem, PA). So I order one.

Watching the bartender pour I immediately notice this beer has an almost unnatural red tint to it. It holds almost no head, but it still looks a little promising. As he places it down in front of me I am overloaded with raspberry smells. It is nice as an air freshener, but I am now concerned. I take a sip and immediately identify the "fake" taste of sour raspberries. It is missing much of the character that Founder's usually has from its selection of hops and malts. I couldn't finish this, as it reminded me of raspberry pucker. Somewhere someone probably really likes this brew, but it was way too sweet for me.

Sorry Founder's, but this seems like you tried too hard and failed. I will never have this again. I'll still have other Founder's brews because of there fairly good track record with me.

Serving type: on-tap

08-20-2008 14:45:54 | More by engisch

Blakaeris

Iowa

2.03/5  rDev -47.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Pours very pink, cloudy, with a thin soapy head.

Smell is Rasberry. No malt or hop detectable.

Taste is artificial sour rasberry flavoring. Once again, there isn't a trace of malt or hop to be found. Hint of alcohol in the finish.

Mouthfeel is very light.

Founders is a great brewery but this isn't even what I would call beer. Your wine cooler drinking girlfriend might like this.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2006 23:58:44 | More by Blakaeris

Atricapilla

Pennsylvania

2.25/5  rDev -42.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

The brewers tried too hard with this beer and came up short. Pours a fairly turbid pinkish red with no head. In fact there is hardly any carbonation at all. The flatness greatly diminshes its drinkablity. Smells very fruity. Tastes almost like raspberry juice; a bit overdone in my opinion. There was a lot of flocculance in my glass, again distracting. The lack of carbonation really kills this beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2008 04:47:16 | More by Atricapilla

cdkrenz

Wisconsin

2.28/5  rDev -41.5%
look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

Thank You Gnomefest!

A - Deep red almost purple body with very thin light tan head that fades away very fast. The look of the body is interesting but the consistency of the whole appearance doesn't become a good rating.

S - Raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, boysenberry, I wish it had some Halle Berry. I bet that would smell good.

T - There's a strong raspberry flavor in this brew followed by a bitterness and a finish leaving much to be desired.

M - The brew is wet at the lips but finishes quite dry. Impressive.

~ Unfortunately I'm going to struggle finishing this because of the flavor. It is far too fruity for my liking, or to even really be a beer in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2008 01:22:00 | More by cdkrenz

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

dreadnatty08

District of Columbia

2.63/5  rDev -32.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Pours a ruby red color. Very effervescent with a white soda pop foam that dissapates to nothing. Aromas are mostly filled with raspberries, some biscuit malt, and a little alcohol. Hmm, flavor is super sticky, super sweet and basically an alcoholic raspberry syrup. Hops aren't particularly detected, nor are any malts used. Carbonation is too low; I feel a fruit beer should be crisp and light. This is quite a dissapointment, I expected something better. Alcohol and raspberry Italian soda, move on.

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2006 20:06:39 | More by dreadnatty08

bashiba

Iowa

2.63/5  rDev -32.6%
look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Poured bright pink with now head at all, lookes more like a wine cooler than a beer.

Smells like fresh tart raspberries.

Taste exactly like the smell, like raspberries, absolutely no standard beer flavors at all, no detectable malt, no hops, no yeast, just sweet and sour raspberries.

Mouthfeel is light and slightly slick

Overall the flavor isn't bad, but has absolutely no beer qualities, taste as much like beer as the Smirnoffs, Bacardi's, and Bartles and James of the world. I will avoid this one. The first let down I have had from founders.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2006 03:21:52 | More by bashiba

smcolw

Massachusetts

2.63/5  rDev -32.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Red orange color, cloudy. Thin head but it leaves decent lace.

Very berry aroma. It's raspberry but slightly artificial. There's also a metallic smell behind the sweetness.

More sweet than tart, but all raspberry. One dimensional--you could call this a raspberry beer cooler. Needs cheese or something spicy to cut the soda aspects of this. The body is an improvement to the taste but typical.

To close to carbonated Kool-Aid for my liking.

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2008 02:22:45 | More by smcolw

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

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

OWSLEY069

Pennsylvania

2.95/5  rDev -24.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Pours a clean reddih/ orange color with a light pinkish head. In the aroma, a small tart raspberry fruitiness. In the taste, small tart, and small raspberry fruitiness, yet quite clean. A smooth and medium bodied mouthfeel, with a dry, small raspberry aftertaste. Kind of faint flavors, and a nice small tartness, ok, but expecting more flavor.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2008 14:53:25 | More by OWSLEY069

Damian

Massachusetts

2.95/5  rDev -24.4%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

Drank from a 12 fl. oz. (355 ml) bottle purchased at Julio's Liquors, Westboro, MA
Served in a tulip

The beer poured a gorgeous, crystal clear, ruby red color with a tight, light pink, sea foam head. Over time, the head faded to a frothy, bubbly film. Odd shaped clumps of lacing cascaded down the glass with every sip.

The aroma was a mix of a powdery yeastiness and a raspberry soda-like quality. Syrupy sweet (much sweeter smelling than I anticipated).

The taste was akin to that of a weak raspberry soda. Sweeter up front, tangy in the center and slightly bitter on the back end. A touch of hops came through on the finish. Some dry, medicinal notes lingered in the aftertaste.

The mouthfeel was crisp, light and spritzy. Somewhat airy. Appropriate for the style yet not very appealing.

Drinkability was quite good. Although the flavor profile was less than stellar, the beer was light and refreshing. Furthermore, the 6.9% ABV was hardly detectable.

If there ever was a beer that mimicked a wine cooler, this would be it. A perfect, warm weather beer for people who do not like beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2009 02:43:58 | More by Damian

demcorhip

Ontario (Canada)

3/5  rDev -23.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Not very beer like in appearance. Thin pinkish head quickly receded. Mildly cabonated with a few big bubbles that quickly rise and embrace the atmosphere. Essentially no lace.

Sweet, ripe raspberries and a touch of grain, some raspberry tang present, along with a touch of yeast mustiness.

Sweet, ripe raspberries along with some pale malts. Tartness shows up near the finish, along with a touch of musty yeast and some grassy hops.

Showcases raspberries in this light bodied brew. Not cloying or syrupy, but is certainly sweet. Would prefer a slightly greater tartness, and perhaps more of a malt presence as well.

One will be enough for me. I really enjoy raspberries, but this is too sweet and unbeerlike for me. Would make a decent dessert drink, but next time ill just go with the NG raspberry tart. A good brew to serve to those who usually stick to alcopop beverages. Might mix well though with a robust porter or perhaps a stout. Could also probably make a killer marinade or sauce out of this.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2008 23:17:07 | More by demcorhip

rhoadsrage

Illinois

3.1/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

( Served in an American pint glass)

A-This beer opened with a big “Pssst” and poured a full glass of light raspberry colored foam. The tiny body is a hazy reddish orange hue with a strong carbonation.

S- The aroma is a big fresh sweet raspberry with a hint of tartness but not a yogurt sourness.

T- The flavor is a big raspberry tartness without the berry flavor and some hoppy floral taste. There is a finish of pale malt in the body.

M- medium mouthfeel with a bit of fizz. There is some astringency or maybe just a big tartness.

D- This beer has the big nose of a great raspberry beer but it is missing the flavor. It was really over-carbonated but I don't think that affected the flavor much. It was missing flavors like fresh berries or malt or hops to balance. It just needs something besides sour.

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2005 02:45:15 | More by rhoadsrage

NJpadreFan

New Jersey

3.1/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Founders- Rübaeus

A- Light ruby red with a small filmy head.
S- Raspberries, thats all.
T- Sweet raspberry candy. Sugary sweet with a hint of powdered corn starch?
M- Very sweet and dry with a touch of alc. heat in the end. Very acidic.

Overall- Blah. Sweet fruity beer good to drink with some chocolate cake otherwise pass on this. Overrated!

Serving type: bottle

06-20-2008 20:57:44 | More by NJpadreFan

tendermorsel

Massachusetts

3.13/5  rDev -19.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

I was disappointed with this beer. I am huge Founders fan and the six pack I bought was quite expensive.

The color of this beer was a very unapealing pink/red. The taste of the beer was very bitter and sour (not in a good way). The aroma was not strong enough for a fruit beer like this. I have had many other rasberry beers that were better than this.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2006 05:57:23 | More by tendermorsel

Crosling

Colorado

3.15/5  rDev -19.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Raspberry juice in color with a small and quickly diminishing head. Medicinal fruit aroma, raspberry mainly, but a hint of cherry as well, with light hints of malt and hops barely showing through the fruit aroma. Flavor is overwhelming with raspberry and although it is quite vibrant, I can’t say I enjoy the malt and hop combo. Light caramel and cookie-like malt is present on the palate as well. Overall, I found it to be a nice alternative to American wheat beer

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2006 00:35:56 | More by Crosling

walleye

Michigan

3.2/5  rDev -17.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

from the bottle. poured a meduim cherry to raspberry, with a big foamy pink head that left some good lacing. aroma, raspberries, yeast, citrus, fruity. flavor, like a wine cooler, raspberries, tart with some sweetness ( like a sweet tart). would be a good summer beer

Serving type: bottle

10-27-2005 00:47:05 | More by walleye

beerthulhu

New Jersey

3.2/5  rDev -17.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A: Poured a pink grapefruit color that appeared much darker in the glass of ruby-orange. The head was eggshell white in color, thin, bubbly, with pink hues. Upon closer inspection there was a big haze and turbidity nature to the beer with a few floaties to be seen.

S: Tart, fruity raspberries and some sugary sweetness combine to produce a soft, perfumy aroma.

T: sugary sweet raspberries. Very fruity and sweet overall. Wish I had more to say and elaborate on but that was pretty much it in a nutshell.

M The mouthful was medium, oily with almost no carbonation detected, while it left a tart berry tang behind on the swallow.

D: Overall it was overbearingly sweet at times and hard to imagine putting more then one of these down at a time. A six pack may last awhile and may be a bit much as don't see this beer having much redrinking value.

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2008 13:38:48 | More by beerthulhu

jlindros

Massachusetts

3.2/5  rDev -17.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I'm a huge fan of Founders, and I even have their t-shirt on thanks to kkipple. I bought this beer though.

A: Light fluffy head that fades quickly like a good sour bottle conditioned beer. Dark and bright rosy reddish pink and hazy color.

N: Nose is raspberry! Some sweet syrup aromas, and the slightest crisp ale aromas, but almost like a raspberry juicy aroma.

T: Starts with a slightly sweet syrup and tons of raspberry. It's got a thick syrup but not too much with sweetness. Again the slightest crisp ale flavor. The raspberry just takes over everything. A slight bitterness. Not much for sour, wild, funky, anything that would give this a beer like taste, or a lambic like beer, instead its just lots of fruit juice.

M: Slight thickness and lots of carbonation.

F: Slightly bitter, and dries off a bit, but mostly still the raspberry juice. This is not a beer, its a fermented raspberry juice. This might be great for some people, especially a feminine beer, but the complete lack of any real beer qualities makes this not reach anywhere near my top beers. I wish I only got 1 instead of a 4 pack.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2010 02:35:01 | More by jlindros

connecticutpoet

Connecticut

3.25/5  rDev -16.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Wow. Had heard of this one, and was dying to try it. So glad it was finally available here.

This one formed a full pint of head in my glass. It was slightly pink foam, and it took a while to subside so I could add more. Final color to the brew was purplish-red, so I knew there were a hell of a lot of raspberries in it. Body was clear.

Aroma was VERY rich in raspberries, quite powerful. I couldn't pick up anything else. Very similar to DFH Fort.

Taste was initially bitter, followed by a burst of raspberries across the tongue. Not as much malt discernable... all about the fruit.

Mouthfeel was somewhat thin, much to my disappointment... a lot like a malt soda.

Can't give it a good drinkability rating, unfortunately. I'm not a major fan of raspberries, but that's not it. I just don't think it had as much beer character as it should have. This was too much about the berries.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2009 01:12:46 | More by connecticutpoet

prototypic

Ohio

3.33/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appearance: This is an interesting looking beer. It's crystal clear and pours a berry red color. Sitting on top is a strawberry cream colored head that's a finger and a half deep. It dissipated quickly and left a very light lacing on the glass.

Smell: The nose okay, but underwhelming. It's dominated by rasberry fruit notes. Somewhat reminds me of New York Seltzer. There's a little bit of an earthy/grainy smell to it. Perhaps a touch of hops. It smells good, but there's not much that's reminiscent of beer.

Taste: The flavor profile is very heavy on the rasberry. No shock there. It's a nice taste though. It's very sweet and sugary. It does have a striking bitter bite that emerges. Perhaps it's attributable to the infusion of some hops. I'm not quite sure. It is a little earthy. No alcohol is noted. Finishes very sweet and a little bitter. Honestly, it's got an okay taste. It doesn't have a lot of beer-like qualities, but enough to get by.

Mouthfeel/Drinkability: It's light bodied and has a decent feel. It features very active carbonation that really impedes its journey toward being smooth. It goes down relatively easy despite that quality. Drinkability is average. This bottle's going down pretty quickly. But due to it's sweet, non-beer nature, I'm ready to move on to something else.

Rübæus is an okay fruit beer. I'm not a fan of the style and this one suffers the same flaws as others. Primarily, it's very heavy on fruit and sweetness and short on ordinary good beer qualities. There's some here, but not enough. That being said, it's okay. It's difficult to offer any meaningful criticism. That'd probably lead to it no longer being a fruit/vegetable beer. All in all, it's alright. Definitely worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2008 02:38:00 | More by prototypic

yeastsipper

California

3.35/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Beer pours a subdued pinkish color. I have never seen a beer this color before. No head to speak of.

Smell is nice. Tons of raspberries. Very fresh and fruity. Really no complexity here though. All raspberries and nothing else.

Taste is good. Again, fruity, raspberry. Slightly dry finish, which is nice. Mouthfeel is nice, perfect carbonation. This is a tough beer to review. In no way is it a great beer; nor is it a bad one. It is not complex in any way, but for what it is, it tastes pretty darn good. It is a raspberry beer, and if you like raspberries and beer, this is worth a shot.

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2009 21:11:49 | More by yeastsipper

Goliath

Illinois

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

Pours a rich semi clear (but not hazy) ruby color. Absolutely no head formed on the pour.

Aroma is nice. Simple scents, with sweet raspberry, and some very familiar aromas that for some reason I can't put my finger on right now.

The taste is much better than the average raspbery hefe for me. They are usually really weak and boring. The raspberry flavor is more pronounced in this beer. A tart note follows. Alcohol also present, which is not impressive since it's only 6.9%.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with gentle carbonation.

Drinkability is moderate to low. Flavor is decent, alcohol is moderate, but I just don't see it being consumed in bulk. A 12 oz may be difficult to finish.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2008 03:38:46 | More by Goliath

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