Don't Fruit the Beer

So various people will say and post "Don't Fruit the Beer".  I've known people both for an against this practice and as we approach summer, lets consider this.   First off who should not fruit the beer, is this a rule for the consumer only?  Should we put this restriction on the server of the beer?  Or is it the manufacturer that should abide by this dictum?

  Well, let's start with the brewer.  First ask yourself is the Reinheitsgebot a good idea?  While there is something to be said for brewing beer with a very limited ingredient list, I'm not convinced that there should be a law about it.  Also, the Reinheitsgebot was replaced in 1993 and didn't actually say you were allowed to use yeast.  But even just using certain types of hops or yeast can produce fruit like tastes or aroma.  So it is possible to get that hint of fruit while only using water, barley, hops and yeast.  But what of actually fruiting the beer.  My own view is that if the brewer wishes to use fruit in some stage of production of his or her beer they should be allowed.  They are crafting a product that they believe the population will like and buy more of so the brewer has more money to make more beer.  While a single beer that isn't received well will most likely not shut a brewery down the brewer will most likely stop making that type of beer.

  So the should this be a rule for the server or consumer of the beer?  Next up lets consider going to a bar and ordering some beer with a big old hunk of fruit on the rim, probably an orange.  Well for a starter if you are male another male will probably make fun of you, I'm not saying that is right or wrong, just that it will probably happen.  But lets consider that piece of fruit, when was it cut?  Was the knife and cutting board clean?  How was it stored?  I'm guessing if you got a dirty glass you'd complain about it, what about your fruit?   Let's continue on though, if you have a piece of orange on the edge of your glass what will that do to your beer?  Oranges and other citrus fruit have acid which will affect the head of your beer.  Since a large part of how we perceive taste is based on smell if you have that fruit on the edge of the glass or floating in the beer you are going to smell that fruit and proceed to taste that fruit.  There is nothing wrong with fruit, its good for you, but if you are using beer as the only method of consuming fruit you may need to rethink your strategy.

   We'll blend right into the consumer, if you are home I'm sure you have clean fresh fruit so that is not your worry.  But either at home or at a bar why are you adding this fruit to your beer?  As mentioned above its going to cover us a chunk of the aroma and flavour of the beer.  If you don't like that beer on its own, why consume it with that hunk of fruit, why not try a different beer or different drink?  There is a large selection of beverages and a wide range of beers to chose from. The beer you drink should stand on its own merits, let it be presented in the way the brewer intended.

   I won't go so far as to declare MAN LAW!! as others have to stop fruit and beer from ever crossing paths.  A man can be a brewer and if a brewer incorporates beer in the process of brewing then let him do it.  But again as the final consumer of beer I'm going to let that beer be enjoyed (or not enjoyed as the case may be) as it was brewed, not with a mask to cover most of the aromas and flavours