Bent River’s Raspberry Brings Summer To Fruition
Well, from the looks of things, between the stifling humidity, the oppressive sun between monsoons, and the constant harassment of gnats as persistent and unwelcome as guys hitting on newly single women on social media, summer seems to have finally kayaked into the Quad-Cities.
And with that new season comes a desperate need for a beverage, known to those over 21 (and ONLY those over 21, of course) as “a beer,” to satisfy the full summer cravings of escape, levity and the blessed sainthood of responsible inebriation.
Local brew pubs have, generously, proven up to this crucial task on the annual. They’ve stepped up to such a monumental responsibility by offering an array of beverages of summer that will help you while away the sunny months.
But if only you had an indefatigable, constantly shining beacon of journalistic integrity, grit and spirit to inform you of the tremendously important information of where and when you can get these prodigious potables!
If only…
If only…
Oh, wait, YOU DO.
Ahem.
So, anyway, what exactly makes for the perfect summer beer?
Like summer, it’s got to be light. No heavy porters or anything as dark as the Night King’s heart will do in the midst of pool weather. That’s winter’s province. You want something refreshing, something that’s weightless and carefree as a summer fling.
Usually, like that fling, you want something a little wild and unusual. Not your standard weak wheat, but something with a little style and flair. A lot of times these beers will have a taste of fruit or spice to them, something mojito minty or a little sweet or even a cool sour to mix things up.
Along those lines, let me introduce you to one of my first favorite beers of the summer.
Fruition: Raspberry is a new concoction at Bent River, and it’s a terrific summer beer for kicking back on the patio, listening to music, scanning the crowd for fun and interesting people and enjoying the lack of parka and pothole purgatory.
As the name more than suggests, it’s a raspberry wheat, light and frivolous, easy to quaff, and with just enough of a kick to make it charming. It’s not too fruity and sweet, just enough, and the tartness of the raspberry balances things out with that slight bitterness of the beer.
It’s easy drinking, for days of relaxing thinking.
So check it out on the outdoor patio of Bent in Rock Island, or on the indoor stretch of bench at Bent Moline, and begin to bring your summer to… wait for it… wait for it… yup, fruition.
Fruition: Raspberry, to be exact.
Corny joke?
Sure. But, hey, lighten up. C’mon, it’s summer, Jake.
