Fruit Beer Week: Lost Coast Raspberry Brown
The other fruit beer that Lost Coast Brewery makes (along with their Tangerine Wheat) is Raspberry Brown. This beer is a version of their flagship Downtown Brown infused with real raspberries; however, where Downtown Brown is 5% ABV, Raspberry Brown is 6.5%. I’m not sure the raspberries alone would account for an extra 1.5% of alcohol, but I suppose it’s possible.
Appearance: Brown with red highlights, a nice color; tan head that’s thick and generous.
Smell: Nice mellow raspberry aromas, like raspberry tea. Floral, sweet, and lightly malty. Raspberry scone.
Taste: Earthy berry bramble; like fresh-picked raspberries that are just shy of being fully ripe so there’s a touch of tart, and a dry note from the brown (chocolate) malts backing it up. Not really dessert-y, but the raspberries are a nice complement to the brown ale.
Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with a fulfilling presence that finishes simultaneously sweet, dry, and the lightest touch of tart.
Overall: Nicely done with a very nice presence; no one component is out of control (balanced well).
On BeerAdvocate, it scores an overall grade of B. On RateBeer, it scores 3.2 out of 5, and is in their 72nd overall percentile (92nd for the style).