Robin Shepard
A growing trend in craft beer is the beer slushie. These beers are often with so much fruit puree that they look less like beer than a thick smoothie. Lion’s Tail Brewing from Neenah is among the Wisconsin breweries experimenting with the style and different fruits. Lion’s Tale will introduce one to Madison this week — it’s called ’Tis the Slushee.
What is it? ’Tis the Slushee from Lion’s Tail Brewing Company in Neenah.
Style: ’Tis the Slushee is based on a blonde kettle sour in which the wort is allowed to cool in the brew kettle. Then lactobacillus (a bacteria in yogurt, cheese and sauerkraut) is introduced. After a day or so, the mash becomes sour and the brewing process is restarted with enough heat to kill the bacteria. Lion’s Tail used a tart Berliner Weisse as the base beer; cranberry, orange and plum puree were added just before packaging.
Background: “It has a crazy amount of fruit — over 1,000 pounds in a 10-barrel batch,” says Lion’s Tail owner and brewmaster Alex Wenzel. That’s about three pounds per gallon of beer. “That’s why it turns out like a slushie or smoothie,” Wenzel notes. With cranberry, orange and plum, he’s “balancing the tartness of the base beer with the sweetness and thickness of the fruit.” He also adds lactose, which lends even more body. This beer is left unfiltered, further adding to its viscous appearance. Wenzel’s earlier versions have been so thick that serving them over the bar is a challenge. “You know you have a good slushie when it’s clogging up the draft lines,” he says.
Beer slushies have been growing in popularity in the past couple of years. They can be made with a wide range of fruit, and some brewers are expanding that to include nuts and spices. In addition to Lion’s Tail, The Brewing Projekt (Eau Claire) and Eagle Park Brewing Company (Milwaukee) are also known forslushies.
Some brewers are making partially frozen versions using commercial slushie or smoothie machines. Lion’s Tail isn’t freezing its version — it’s a kegged tap beer, and can be taken home in a crowler. It should be noted that with the high amount of fruit sugars from the puree, these brews can continue to ferment when packaged. That’s why Lion’s Tail prints a statement on its crowlers that the beer should be kept cold until it’s served. The beer finishes at 5.3 percent ABV.
’Tis the Slushee makes its Madison debut on Dec. 12 at the grand opening of Garth’s Brew Bar at 1726 Monroe St. It will also be on tap soon at Mr. Brews Taphouse locations in Monona, Middleton and at High Point Crossing.
Lion’s Tail Brewing opened in 2015 in the historic Equitable Reserve Association building, a former insurance office constructed in the early 1900s in downtown Neenah. It has been self-distributing beer to Madison over the past year, appearing sporadically around town. However, the recent installation of a new canning line means more Lion’s Tail brews will make it here in shipments every two weeks. Wenzel is already working on his next slushie beer — that one will feature stone fruits and almonds. He plans to sell it in Madison in cans by late January. That future beer will also be available at this year’s Isthmus Beer and Cheese Festival on January 18.
Tasting notes:
- Aroma: Fruity hints of cranberry and orange.
- Appearance: Thick reddish pink, almost a beet red. A bubbly pink head.
- Texture: Medium-bodied, round and soft.
- Taste: The sharpness of the kettle sour comes in first, and strong; then the sweeter fruity flavors of cranberry and orange dampen the tartness and eventually stand out.
- Finish/Aftertaste: The fruitiness rides out the finish with plum sweetness.
Glassware: The tulip glass shows off the beer’s thick appearance and its bright reddish pink color.
Pairs well with: rich soft desserts like cheesecake. But be sure to sip some on its own to appreciate its thick body and layers of different fruits.
The Verdict: This beer should go on your must-try list, especially if you like experimenting with different beer styles. I’ve had a range of similar fruited beers in the past year and what I like about ’Tis the Slushee is Wenzel’s selection of cranberry, orange and plum fruits. They have a Christmassy feel. Plus those fruits blend well; plus, there’s a tasty balance between the assertive tart acidity of the kettle sour and the sweet fruit puree. However, the beer tends to get lost in the fruit, and for those with a hard-core beer palate like mine, it really doesn’t satisfy a taste for malted grains and hops.
