Berry Ale
Swans Brewpub / Buckerfield Brewery

Berry AleBerry Ale
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From:
Swans Brewpub / Buckerfield Brewery
 
British Columbia, Canada
Style:
Fruit and Field Beer
ABV:
7%
Score:
81
Avg:
3.41 | pDev: 13.78%
Reviews:
9
Ratings:
18
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jul 25, 2017
Added:
Jul 10, 2005
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  1
Full-bodied ale with raspberries added in fermentation, amber-light red in colour - a great complexity & delicacy.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 3.5 by Howlader from Canada (AB)

Jul 25, 2017
 
Rated: 2.71 by JonCorbett from Canada (BC)

Jun 03, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by jrempel from Canada (BC)

May 02, 2016
 
Rated: 3 by Jotora from Canada (ON)

Mar 25, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by Erik-P from Canada (BC)

May 09, 2015
 
Rated: 3 by harpus from Alabama

Oct 21, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by 2beerdogs from California

Jul 23, 2013
Photo of wisrarebeer
Reviewed by wisrarebeer from Wisconsin

3.56/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Thanks mom and dad for bringing this back from the brewery.

A: chestnut brown color, clear, with no to little head
S: medium nose, deep ripe berries, earthy woody
T: very berry, not sweet, actually sharp finish from tart berries, more in line with malt beverage with berries but earthy and woody
M: quenching, full
Mar 24, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by LampertLand from Canada (BC)

Mar 06, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by w00ddy from Canada (BC)

Feb 11, 2012
Photo of BashOnABike
Reviewed by BashOnABike from Canada (AB)

3.14/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3
A - Looks like a cider, plain and simple. Rose, slightly pinkish colour, fairly translucent, bubbly. Little to no head/lacing.

S - Well..raspberry. Not much else. You can't really smell the alcohol due to the high sugar content.

T - This is probably the only beer-ey part of it, as there is a little malt. Mostly rasperry though, but surprisingly a lot of alcohol. After a few pints, this becomes a little perturbing.

M - Light and fizzy, with a slightly alcoholic and syrupy aftertaste. Kinda like a hand-made pop.

D - I think this is Swans' token "non-beer-drinker" beer. Thus it is very drinkable, often consumed in pitchers. I wouldn't want more than one though. It's just too sweet.

This really could be a good beer, much like a true english cider, but it's just too sweet and syrupy; the raspberry taste is overcome by the cough-medicine consistency.
Nov 23, 2011
Photo of harrymel
Reviewed by harrymel from Washington

3.64/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5
Verbatim from notes 16JUL11

Raspberry Ale: Cherry pine ale with no head, no lace, brilliant clarity. Smells of sweet raspberry, natural. Hunts of biscuity malt. Raspberry is a little subdued compared to say, NG's offerings, but I think this is not bad. Sweet bready malts hang out iwth the sapberry and have just a touch of sourness. Medium bodi with low carb. Dry finish. Would like a lot more carb. Overall, Not bad, the carb (lack thereof) takes a lot away from the overall impression of this beer.
Aug 04, 2011
Photo of mjbotsch
Reviewed by mjbotsch from New York

4.05/5  rDev +18.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
Sampled on 7/31/2009 at the brewpub in Victoria, from a flight of six. This was a very nice Raspberry Ale, to be more specific on the style. Deep reddish color in the glass, with just a hint of the fruit in its nose. It tasted like they use actual fruit instead of syrup in the brewing. Distinctive raspberry undertone, but fruity rather than sweet. Honestly, not a very sweet beer at all. Light but not insubstantial mouthfeel and a brief finish.

Very tasty and easy to drink; I would definitely order this one again.
Aug 04, 2009
Photo of Voonder
Reviewed by Voonder from Canada (AB)

2.76/5  rDev -19.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
This was sitting in my fridge for a while, so I'm not sure if it's still good. But anyways,
Pours dark red, almost brown colour. Smell - mostly malts and somewhat berries.Taste is a bit too sweet, but still pretty balanced, malts are dominating, berries are kinda on the back. Alcohol is very well hidden, which is a good think. It's a bit flat, but still pretty crisp. Drinkability is less than average.
It's not bad, but i'm not too impressed with it.
Nov 24, 2008
Photo of Hornet2003
Reviewed by Hornet2003 from Canada (BC)

2.65/5  rDev -22.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2
On tap at the Swans brewpub in May/08.

Appearance: Rich ruby red colour. Pretty much no head.

Smell: Mmm, raspberry. Lots of berry aroma, but there is a medicinal smell as well. Hrm.

Taste: Acrid, bitter, medicinal. There is a berry essence in there, but it is artificial tasting. Almost a rubbing alcohol character. Bleh.

Mouthfeel: I found this too fizzy, almost like a cheap generic soda. Way too much artificial(non-hop) bitterness in there at the back to wreck the feel.

Drinkability: Well based on the review above, I obviously won't be drinking this anytime soon. If they could re-work this to have a sweeter, more refreshing character, I'd probably enjoy it more.

Overall: Too medicinal and artificial tasting. Swans/Buckerfields needs to do some research on the Belgian lambic flavoured beers. If they could get some inspiration from those, they could have a winner.
Jul 12, 2008
Photo of canucklehead
Reviewed by canucklehead from Canada (BC)

3.68/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a reddish brown (quite nice in the glass) with reasonable head. The nose is fruity with some hops. The beer itself is a fruit beer with a solid ale backing. The highish ABV is not really noticed but the fruit notes come through in the finish and the mid body. Well done for the style and quite drinkable probably due to a dryness in the fruity finish.
May 04, 2008
Photo of BDTyre
Reviewed by BDTyre from Canada (BC)

4/5  rDev +17.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Sparkling, but slightly cloudy appearance. Pinkish-copper colour with a head that is thin like a soda, but lingers much longer.

Pleasant, not-too-sweet berry and malt smalt. Faint hop backing. Definite raspbeery smell.

Malt-raspberry taste. Very faint hop bitterness, but the acidity of the raspberry makes sure this isn't too distracting. Definite malt taste, but fruit is the most prominent taste. The 7% abv is not noticeable in the taste.

Good mouthfeel. Definite carbonation, but very smooth. Cask is a bit smoother than the bottled version.

Very drinkable, despite the ABV -which seems pretty high for a fruit beer. From the cask, this is very smooth and rich. Bottle is slightly more carbonated and astringent, but this is enjoyable either way.
Sep 25, 2006
Photo of francisweizen
Reviewed by francisweizen from Washington

4/5  rDev +17.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Tap at the brewery. Light citrus fruit inspired colour. Pinky orange perhaps, light red? Maybe, Swans is a very dark place, i'm not totally sure to tell the truth! The aroma of this beer was nice. You can tell that this beer was built upon a solid bitter, or pale ale base. The raspberries lend a fruit complexity to the aroma of this beer, and there is also a slight twinge of booze in the nostrils as well. Taste is fruity, but not overly so. The ale qualaties shine through as well with some lovely bready malts and dry hops adding more complexity to this brew. finish is dry and puckering with a bit of a boozy bite. Mouthfeel is medium bodied-thick and drinkability remains good. Another winner from a very good brewpub....Victoria is doing good...
Jul 18, 2005
Berry Ale from Swans Brewpub / Buckerfield Brewery
Beer rating: 81 out of 100 with 18 ratings