Liefmans Fruitesse (Fruitbier) - Brouwerij Liefmans

osusullins

Illinois

1.43/5  rDev -56.4%
look: 1.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5

Sampled on draft into Liefmans Fruitesse glass.

Not good in my opinion. I really don't think it tastes like beer at all. It is Kool-Aid. Plain and simple. It tastes exactly like Kool-Aid.

Pours a cherry red color with pink head.

Smells sweet. Candy sugar and cherries.

Tastes like Kool-Aid. All candy sugar and cherry. No hops or malt present on the palate. Doesn't taste like beer at all.

Serving type: on-tap

11-02-2011 06:23:35 | More by osusullins

RobertColianni

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -0.9%

05-15-2013 04:56:13 | More by RobertColianni

beernads

Florida

3/5  rDev -8.5%

05-08-2013 07:50:58 | More by beernads

finstadp

Michigan

4.15/5  rDev +26.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I recently had the Fruitesse by Liefmans. This beer had a red appearance with some floating particles in it. The aroma was pleasant and fruity. This was a very light beer in accordance to mouthfeel. The taste was very sweet like candy. It had an almost black cherry flavor and was very enjoyable. This would be a great summer drink.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2013 19:42:54 | More by finstadp

UstickM

Michigan

3/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This beer has a nice red tint with little to no head. The smell is fruity and sweet with hints of cough syrup due to the combination of all the fruits: cherry, blueberry, elderberry, strawberry and raspberry. The taste is very sweet and might be better paired as an after dinner drink or dessert.

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2013 22:18:55 | More by UstickM

lpayette

Vermont

3.75/5  rDev +14.3%

04-20-2013 02:48:23 | More by lpayette

souvenirs

British Columbia (Canada)

3.25/5  rDev -0.9%

04-18-2013 09:26:40 | More by souvenirs

Boilerfood

Indiana

3.5/5  rDev +6.7%

04-14-2013 16:18:45 | More by Boilerfood

ihmurria

Saskatchewan (Canada)

3/5  rDev -8.5%

03-04-2013 21:12:04 | More by ihmurria

jessicapreuss

Brazil

3.25/5  rDev -0.9%

02-14-2013 03:09:58 | More by jessicapreuss

sumpjh

California

3/5  rDev -8.5%

02-08-2013 10:47:00 | More by sumpjh

Gagnonsux

Texas

3.25/5  rDev -0.9%

02-06-2013 00:09:52 | More by Gagnonsux

Bashao

Israel

3.38/5  rDev +3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Pours red color from the bottle. Almost no foam head.

Smell: Smells of sweet fruty flavours. Mostly cherry and strawberry.

Taste: Starts sweet but tastes like artificial sweetner and ends acidic sour. Mildly carbonated.

Mouthfeel: Very lite body.

Overall: Nice fruit beer. Not more.

Serving type: bottle

01-25-2013 19:18:04 | More by Bashao

bismarksays

Iowa

3.5/5  rDev +6.7%

01-16-2013 06:02:36 | More by bismarksays

falloutsnow

Illinois

3.13/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

From: Tenuta's, Kenosha, WI
Date: Cork has "2010" printed on it, cage has "08-2012 LFF 13 01782"
Glass: Tulip

Liefmans' Fruitesse is something of a fake-candied fruit beer, a bit too light in scent and flavor, for my liking, when compared to others of the style. When aged at over two years, there's a discernible bit of tartness in this beer, which imparts a pleasant contrasting flavor with the fruit juices, but for the price and potential length of time to achieve this effect, I'd prefer to have a different fruit beer, particularly one that didn't use artificial sweeteners.

Pours a small, 0.5cm light-pink head that rapidly fades in a soda-like fashion to a virtual nothingness atop the body. Lacing is minimal to nonexistent, a small streak here or there. The body is a transparent, dark ruby red color with visible and vigorous carbonation (the question arises: where is the foam?). Light brings out lighter red hues around the perimeter of the body. To me, the soda-like retention and lack of lacing decrease the aesthetic appeal of this beer significantly; the body itself resembles any other red fruit-based beer.

Aroma is candy-like raspberry and cherry with a hint of tartness, which perhaps emerges from the two-plus years of aging this bottle has undergone. When I compare this to the fruit beers produced by New Glarus and other Liefmans beers, the scent is a bit light and thin, perhaps due to a lesser load of fruit and presence of artificial sweetener.

Overall flavors would be of light cherry, strawberry, and raspberry juice mixed with artificial sweetener and a modest hint of tartness that likely emerges with the two-plus years of age this bottle has. Opens with light fruit juice sweetness and a trace of artificial sweetener flavor, leading to a fairly decent mid-palate of blended strawberry-cherry-raspberry juices (heavier on cherry and raspberry) with a hint of tartness and lesser artificial sweetener. Closes with similar fruit juice flavors (cherry and raspberry juice, primarily) and a continued, faint tartness and fake sweetness. This wasn't as lacking in flavors as in aromas, and the tartness I find makes it better than an overly sweet, basic fruit beer, though Fruitesse still reminds me of a pale version of many bolder fruit beers.

The beer is medium to medium-light in body, with a carbonated fizziness reminiscent of soda that makes this a bit too prickly across the palate for my liking. Once this wears off, though, the beer is pleasant enough and fairly foamy across the palate. Closes with a slight astringency that either is from the fruit acids or the artificial sweetener; either way, it works fairly well with a sweet beer that drinks quickly like soda.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2013 04:28:07 | More by falloutsnow

Takeahnase

3.25/5  rDev -0.9%

01-05-2013 18:11:39 | More by Takeahnase

acurtis

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev +14.3%

01-04-2013 13:32:48 | More by acurtis

Morpheus

Alberta (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev +6.7%

12-29-2012 08:49:39 | More by Morpheus

NickThePyro

Washington

3.75/5  rDev +14.3%

12-24-2012 04:33:25 | More by NickThePyro

Lethargy99

New York

3/5  rDev -8.5%

12-12-2012 03:11:57 | More by Lethargy99

Pelicanrocks

United Kingdom (England)

3.5/5  rDev +6.7%

11-25-2012 18:45:06 | More by Pelicanrocks

stealth

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev +6.7%

11-06-2012 05:52:54 | More by stealth

fisherbray

Florida

3/5  rDev -8.5%

11-01-2012 04:04:05 | More by fisherbray

Rutager

British Columbia (Canada)

3.03/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appearance. Pours red with a thin pink head.

Smell. Smells like raspberry cool aid to me. Is there such a thing? Sweet, sour, sugary raspberries.

Taste. Tastes like raspberry cool aid too! Maybe not quite as sweet as cool aid would be, and a little more sour. Not too bad, actually.

Mouthfeel. Medium body, medium+ carbonation.

Overall. Tastes okay if you like cherry cool aid. Not amazing as far as a beer goes. Better give this glass back to my wife...

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2012 03:41:29 | More by Rutager

thagr81us

South Carolina

3.5/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served from tap into a Trappe Door tulip. Poured ruby red with a one finger slight pink head that subsided to a half finger very slowly. Maintained nice lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, strawberry, raspberry, sugar, and Kool-Aid. The flavor was of sweet malt, strawberry, raspberry, and sugar. It had a light feel on the palate with mild carbonation. Overall this was a decent brew. This one really had a huge sweetness aspect going on that I was not ready for. I should have known when I smelled it and it smelled like Kool-Aid, but I was being optimistic. The sweetness on this one really dominated it without a doubt. I could see this being a good intro beer for some, but for the experienced sour/tart drinker it doesn’t quite deliver.

Serving type: on-tap

10-18-2012 11:30:42 | More by thagr81us