Fruity beer catches ale experts on the hop

Published on Thursday 3 May 2007 12:09

THEY sound more like the ingredients of a cocktail than the basis of a good pint.

But bananas, raspberries, blackberries and blackcurrants are being used to offer beer drinkers a new sensation in the city's bars this summer.

The fruits are being put to use by the Lothians' ever more inventive brewers to create new flavours for their classic beers.

Even dedicated real ale enthusiasts were caught on the hop by the results at a blind taste test organised by the Evening News.

The head brewer at the city's Caledonian Brewing Company, Dr Robert Burton, is responsible for perhaps the most unusual of the new arrivals - Top Banana, which is made using fair trade bananas.

The Belhaven brewery in Dunbar has used traditional Scottish berries to make a limited edition draught version of its award-winning bottled fruit beer for the summer.

Drinkers invited into the Standing Order on George Street to sample the new beers were impressed, but baffled.

They found the fruit beer, with its more distinctive berry favour, relatively easy to identify. But trying to identify the bananas drove them round the bend.

Real ale enthusiast John Scurr, 58, a member of the Campaign for Real Ale, thought he knew the drink instantly.

The customer services manager from Dunfermline said after one sip: "It's a good drink - that must be a Belhaven 80 shilling, which is a good pint."

He was almost disbelieving when told it was made with bananas.

"Really?" he said, giving the drink a quizzical sniff. "Well it tastes just like 80 shilling."

Joiner Dean Wyllie, 20, of Musselburgh, was equally certain he knew what the banana beer was.

"This tastes like Caledonian 80. It's really nice," he said.

When told the secret ingredient, he added: "I certainly wouldn't have imagined it was made with bananas. I don't really think you can taste them that much.

"The fruit beer's really nice, but I don't know if I would drink it on a night out.

Kelly Venz, 25, an English teacher from the Meadows, was far more uncertain about what the beer tasted like, even after sniffing it, sipping it and swilling it.

"It's quite nice, it has got a nice taste to it, slightly bitter, and something else," she said.

"I can't quite place it but there's something definitely English about it."

She was stunned after learning the truth. "It's really banana?" she asked, before giving the beer another taste. "Actually, now that you say that, I can taste it.

"I think maybe it's difficult for the mind to place, because you don't really associate beer with bananas."

Miss Venz was equally uncertain about the fruit beer, which she said was "quite nutty" but had a flavour difficult to place.

"I'd probably go for the banana beer, just because it's a lighter ale and that's the kind of beer I like," she added.

Kenneth Falconer, 63, a retired technical officer from Balerno, was also unsure at first.

"It does have a rather unusual aftertaste to it, something a little bit chocolatey and quite bitter," he said, before he realised what that taste was. "It's banana isn't it? It's very unusual, certainly different, but it's quite nice."

Mr Falconer also spotted the fruit beer from his first sip, and admitted he was a big fan.

The Caledonian team used various members of staff as tasters to ensure the banana taste was just discernible.

Mr Burton said: "We like to bring a bit of fun into our beers whilst making sure they taste great."

A Belhaven spokeswoman added: "The fruit beer has been very popular."

Opinion was divided over the beers in The Standing Order:

Alan Smith, 21, student, Longniddry: "It's good. It just tastes like a normal beer, certainly not banana, and it's quite nice. It's slightly sweet and a little bit fruity, and you can smell it slightly. It's certainly nice enough. The fruit beer is far more fruity than the banana one, and it's got a bit more flavour. It has a more bitter taste, but it's more like a beer."

Florence McPherson, 18, student, Stockbridge: "It tastes like fruit, although I was quite surprised that it was made with bananas. I don't really drink beer much but it's OK, I guess. It's probably not something I would drink if I was out, but only because I don't really drink beer. The fruit beer I didn't really like at all, as it was too bitter."

Jamie Robertson, 20, student, Murrayfield: "It's all right - certainly nothing too unusual about it. I would not really have said it was a banana beer. The fruit beer tastes a little bit like a weak cider and blackcurrant."

Zuzanna Gloeh, 24, a teacher from Trinity: "It's a little too bitter for my liking, although I don't generally drink British beer. It tastes a little flat and there's not much flavour. I would definitely not have said it was banana, although I suppose it has a slight smell. The fruit beer is better, it's more bubbly and less bitter. It tastes a little bit like a Slovakian lager."

Agata Pilarska, 24, supermarket worker, Easter Road: "It's a little bitter for me, and it has a funny aftertaste. I would never have believed it was a banana. The fruit beer, you can taste the fruit a bit, and I would say it is a little nicer."

Grant Glendinning, 18, student, Crammond: "It has a really unusual taste, and it's slightly bitter. I don't think I would have guessed it was made with bananas. The fruit beer is much more bitter, though I think it's actually a lot nicer than the banana one."