Just a few years ago, beer would certainly not have found its place in a special section devoted to the colors of summer. This was before the fashion for smoothie sours, these sour beers characterized by their generous amounts of fruit puree. The trend has not only continued, but is expressed today in all colors and scents!
“Smoothie sours are exactly in tune with the colors of summer,” says Guillaume Couraud, owner of microbrewery Brewskey, who pioneered the canning of smoothie sours. When people see this in the brewpub they immediately wonder what it is, it really sets off a wow phenomenon! »
Guillaume and his team have since brewed over a hundred varieties of Brew Juice, constantly boosting the popularity of this malty drink that leaves no one indifferent. So much so that several breweries have decided to take the plunge too – you can find a nice variety of smoothie sours in specialty retailers, but also in most grocery stores.
These beers should always be kept cold and consumed fresh, whenever possible. For what ? Because the mash added at the end of the brewing process is loaded with sugar and can ferment in the can if not kept cold. “You have to treat the product as it is, that is to say delicate, not necessarily stable, warns Guillaume Couraud. That said, we make sure to control all the parameters so that the product is stable in the glass. Also, we put cans in the warm to see them react, to test their reaction. We play the role of customers who don’t listen! »
Some beer ayatollahs may have cried foul, but nothing could stop the multicolored engine of smoothie sours. “Some say it’s not beer, it may obviously displease some people, but it attracts many others, because the fruit brings a different clientele, continues the owner of the Old Montreal brewery . The public that joined the trend was much more numerous than the number of breweries that produced it, even if it tends to stabilize today. »
“We have a lot of requests in the field, our customers have told us about them on several occasions, immediately recognizes Sébastien Laganière, co-owner of Lagabière, which recently launched its Blender series. As we develop our strategic planning annually, we waited until this year to propose our smoothie inspiration. Our motto is ‟all occasions are good”, so we want a varied range. »
Unlike Brewskey, which produces in small batches and sells its products in twenty handpicked retailers, Lagabière has one of the largest factories among Quebec microbreweries and distributes its beers on a large scale. She therefore chose to blend the fruit purees before the fermentation process. “So it’s a beer inspired by smoothie sours, but the fruit is still very present, the alcohol comes almost entirely from the fruit,” says the brewer. One thing is certain, it’s really summery, we’re going to release a new variety every two months. It almost replaces a sangria, with a nice fruity effect, perfect on a terrace with good weather. We will also put it in the slush machine and offer it occasionally in our brewpub. »
“I see a big craze on Sunday mornings for brunch, adds Guillaume Couraud. We open a smoothie instead of a mimosa! The idea went far enough to brew a Brew Juice Mimosa, it’s maddening how it looks like the authentic recipe. And for the record, people who don’t like the idea of smoothie sours end up trying it and agreeing that it’s still pretty good! »
The apricot is highlighted, with the mango harmonizing perfectly with the extremely well-balanced flavor palette – thanks to a sustained acidity coming from the raspberry in particular. One of the few smoothie sours that can boast a low alcohol content, it’s also one of the first beers of its kind to be sold on a large scale; The La Souche lab team pasteurizes the beer before adding the fruit puree, which is also pasteurized beforehand.
Very ingenious combination of sweet and savory, a double gose with Himalayan pink salt to which raspberry and lychee puree has been added plus a touch of rose water — a version with guava and soursop was also brewed. The result is surprisingly vinous, with something reminiscent of sangria. Very well balanced, with a nice acidity that masks its alcohol level, which fluctuates around 7%.
One of the undisputed stars of the Brew Juice range, which almost gave birth to the fashion for smoothie sours in Quebec. Brewskey calls it Imperial Cheesecake Sour and that’s exactly what its explosive nose gives us, with notes of cheesecake, but also caramel and vanilla. The puree of blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, cream cheese and vanilla gives a dense and silky texture to the beer, we are really talking about a smoothie. It’s sweet, decadent, but it’s very well done.
Saint-Bock hits the mark with its deliberately playful Slush range with its blue raspberry, red cherry, cream soda, orange, grape and lime flavors — this is the one we tried because it’s our favorite slush. Less consistent than other smoothie sours, it is however adorned with a completely delirious lime green dress. In the mouth, it is very tangy and sweet as it should be. For an even more satisfying experience, you can turn it into a real slush by following the recipe printed on the can. There is even an extreme version, for the more adventurous.
Lagabière has also embarked on the smoothie sour wave with its newly launched Blender series. The second in the series includes bananas, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and lychees, with a hint of vanilla. Here, the fruits are fully fermented before canning, so you can afford to forget it in the trunk of the car without fear that it will explode while continuing to ferment. It is therefore described as a smoothie sour inspired beer, it gets its smoothness from the oatmeal added to the brew. It is a little less complex and drier in the mouth than pure juice sour smoothies.
