The Melbourn Bros. line offers a distinctive sampling opportunity to those looking to try a vividly flavorful fruit beer or for those who claim to love cider, but hate beer. The line continues to push the boundaries of what the drinking public considers to be beer, while offering an approachable, enjoyable product.

In addition to predecessor Apricot and Strawberry offerings, the All Saints Brewery now offers the Melbourn Bros. Cherry beer. The beer is brewed with malted barley, wheat, and fresh cherries and their juice. The brewery recommends the beer as an aperitif and as a complement to mussels and flavorful cheeses.

Unlike most other breweries, including every other brewery in England, All Saints relies on spontaneous fermentation, or the use of natural, wild yeasts to ferment its beers. Similar to the lambic brewing method found outside of Brussels, Belgium, this English twist provides the line with an increased acidity level and a touch of funkiness in the flavor profile. The brewery uses louvred panels in the coolship room to allow wild yeasts to enter the brewery building. As increased summer temperatures cause too great a boost in the level of the wild yeasts, the brewery limits most of its production to the cooler, winter months.

The worst stands overnight in the coolship room, during which time the wild yeasts wonderfully enter propagate in the beer and initiate fermentation. The wort is then pumped into cedar-based fermentation vessels. The beer then matures for one year to develop its intriguing character.

The beer pours with a striking deep rouge color and a sizable creamy pink head. The aroma is a pleasant mix of sweet and tart notes, with some acidic tartness rounding it out. Some light, sweet cherry notes, almost cough drop like, present alongside some berry skin aroma. The first sip is more tart than expected, with a very light carbonation bite early on to cleanse the palate. A dull sweetness pervades the brew, with simple cherry notes, some funky and earthy hints from the yeast, all ending with a mildly acidic, somewhat mouth-puckering finish. Overall, the beer is less acidic and carbonated than the comparable New Glarus Belgian Red, but more full bodied. It's classification as a beer will surprise many who may be more inclined to view it as a cherry champagne cocktail.

Despite its avowed flavor, the Melbourn Bros. line has its critics. The inevitable beer snob sniffs that it does not taste like a lambic, but what do they really expect? Few things can outside of the Senne Valley. Moreover, the brewers do not claim the beer to be a lambic, only a product of the spontaneous fermentation method. Similarly, some grumble that the beers are made not only with real fruit, but also with the use of fruit juice. This kind of strikes me like the senseless debates over contract brewing versus brick and mortar operations, or production under the German Purity Law versus that of experimentation with adjuncts.

What matters in the end is, is the beer any good? While part of me is sad to fawn over such a sweet brew, I have to say I'm a sucker for the sometimes cloyingly sweet Melbourn Bros. beers. While the Cherry is a nice addition to the line, and is certainly a welcomed addition to the refrigerators of fruit beer lovers, it pales next to the beauty of the Apricot, a beer of greater balance and flavor.

Sample provided by Merchant du Vin