Upon first pour, I mistook my pint of Buffalo Bill's Brewery Orange Cream Ale for my roommate's freshly poured glass of kombucha. It's a strange pale orange color, a hue no self-respecting beer should ever develop.
It's even more confusing on the palate. It tastes like a mimosa, or perhaps Sprecher Orange Dream…gone sour. Like Easter time with my family members—mimosas are my saving grace.
That said, as a rule, I cannot enjoy fruity beers unless they are brewed well and the subtle—key word—flavor of the chosen fruit doesn't overwhelm the ale.
Leinie's Berry Weis? Tastes like stale Fruit Loops. Or a worse, yet more apt, characterization: like a wheaty wine cooler. Reminds me of high school parties.
Notable exceptions of my arbitrarily imposed rule include New Glarus' dessert beer, Raspberry Tart (raspberry pie in a bottle, dark and tart but not too yeasty), citrusy Bell's Oberon and Dogfish Head's Aprihop because, well, they're delicious. And I'm a sucker for anything by Dogfish Head.
Unfortunately, Buffalo Bill's orange-y cream ale falls into the former, doomed category of fruit beers.
It has its merits, however. Writing this review was much easier after two of them, of course, and it'd be a fitting beer to sip with grilled fish in the summertime, if you can get over the weird dichotomy of tart and creamy.
If you do decide to try this beer—you fruit beer lovers out there—serve cold and enjoy with lighter foods. This 70-degree weather in mid-November won't last long, so now is your time to try!
But, in my opinion, no beer should ever taste like that moment when, after all the plastic Easter eggs are found by the little ones, your aunts and uncles inquire when you're going to get a ""real job.""
Bottoms up!
