Shocking Pink

I can still recall the feeling of satisfaction I enjoyed when I introduced a non beer drinking work colleague to Kriek, who knocked it back and declared her undying love for stuff. And who wouldn't enjoy it? It's refreshing with a tang that crackles on the tongue accompanied with delicious, wholly natural fruit flavour. I'm wandering onto dodgy ground when I say that this type of beer is one for the ladies, but there is no doubt that fruit lambic are accessible beers and do appeal to those people who don't ordinarily drink beer.

It is only with this shaky social observation in mind that I can hope to explain why Gulpener Rose has been concocted. They must have in mind drinkers who do not know what beer tastes like, because it tastes terrible, with a vile artificial sweetener flavour (curiously artificial sweeteners actually taste slightly bitter to me) with no trace of the 'pure wheat beer' beneath, while the red berry fruit flavour that has been added makes this beer taste like the tooth rotting nasty fizzy raspberry drinks I consumed as a child. I can't for the life of me figure out why a brewer would consider adding this degree of artificial sweeteners and E numbers to a beer and then attempt to pass it off as a quality product. No doubt it'll find its market share, but it can't be considered a positive contribution to the beer world.