What makes this beer interesting to me is the cherries they say they use in this beer are actually from Michigan. On top of that they are added at 5 separate times during the fermentation, so I was expecting quite a bit of fruit in both the nose and flavor.
Cerise poured a clear reddish amber color with about a finger of white head that dissipated fairly quickly. There was hardly any visible carbonation and very little lacing was left on the glass. It reminded me somewhat of a glass of Hawaiian Punch once the head died down. Whatever it looked like, it sure was delicious looking.
The nose of Cerise is extremely light and I had to really take some time to pick up much of the smell which is mostly dominated by a cherry and malt scent. There is a slight floral type smell hidden in it but that’s about all I picked up. I was hoping the aroma would be much more cherry filled, but it was fairly nice nonetheless.
If you like cherry pie, you will love the flavor of this beer (well, it might be even better with whipped cream on top…don’t judge, I like whipped cream way too much). It’s not a very complex flavor but surprisingly very tasty. It’s very tart cherries up front followed by more sweet cherries with a touch of malt mixed in. The flavor is quite a bit stronger than the aroma, but definitely not overboard.
I don’t drink a lot of fruit beers, but I really enjoyed Cerise. I’m anxious to have my wife try it as she doesn’t like most beers, but I think she will love this one. It’s crisp, sweet, and full of fruit flavor that would make a great beer for non beer drinkers to try. Overall a pretty tasty summertime beverage (it’s available June-August).
My Founders Cerise Review: B+
Here are the details:
ABV: 6.5%
IBUs: 15
Style: Fruit Beer
What’s your thoughts on Founders Cerise?
