Founders Brewing - Cerise

Tonight I'll be drinking Cerise from Founders Brewing in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Quick aside; on their website, Founders asks "If you were able to drink a beer with any of the people on our beer labels, who would you most want to drink with?"  The options are The Dirty Bastard, The Porter Lady, Red (Red's Rye PA), The Backwoods Bastard, and The Curmudgeon.  I would actually prefer to drink with the Double Trouble guy, since he looks like a crazy magician and would probably be more interesting than the other label-people options.  But since he's not an option in this particular poll, I picked the Backwoods Bastard.  He's got a sly, wise look to him....would probably make for interesting conversation.  Who would you pick?

Now back to the beer.  Cerise is a 'cherry fermented ale', with fresh Michigan cherries added at five different stages of the fermentation process.  It technically classifies as a fruit beer, with 6.5% alcohol.  Fresh cherries are delicious, few people will argue that fact.  But cherries and beer are an odd combination...you never really know what to expect.  Ommegang's Three Philosophers is an example of a beer brewed with cherries that is hugely popular and successful in the craft world.  Sam Adams Cherry Wheat is another example which I personally did NOT enjoy.  So without further adieu, let's see how Founders does with this little red fruit. 

This beer is a hazy grapefruit-reddish orange color, with a small amount of light fizzy head on top.  The aroma is far less cherry-y than I expected.  It smells like a beer - wheat, lemons, some light cherry tartness in there.  The flavor starts off mega-super-tart.  After the lighter than expected nose, I let down my guard a little bit, but this thing is sour at the beginning!  Took a few sips to acclimate my taste buds.  Cherries are abundant, start to finish.  It's a stretch to say there is any kind of malt backbone present, but some spices do come through, and a slightly grassy herbal note is present in the background.  The texture is very much like champagne - bubbly and sweet.

Overall Rating:  This beer took me out of my comfort zone and into the realm of fruit beers, which I generally avoid.  Unfortunately, it was more of the same - too much tart sweetness, not enough balance.  Not for me, but if you're the fruit-beer type, it's certainly worth a try.  D