Chicagoist's "Beer of the Week": Founder's Rübaeus

Now that it seems as though the weather is finally catching up with the calendar, we at Chicagoist feel an obligation to offer some “BotW” selections that won’t put you down any further than the impending muggy weather. Rooting through our fridge, we found one that we think might do the trick for you who like both sweeter and lighter beers.

We took a good hard look at the Grand Rapids-based Founder’s brewery a few months back when we tore into their barrel-aged “Kentucky Breakfast” stout. As much as we love that beer, drinking it in this weather would just weigh on us and make us sluggish. However, Founder’s makes a delicious ale fermented with full raspberries. At a hearty 6.9 percent alcohol by volume, Rübaeus is one of the stronger fruit beers on the market. Decant this and you’re going to fall in love with the color. It looks like a thick syrup, but looks are deceiving here. We wouldn’t recommend pouring it over pancakes, but go ahead and pair it with a stack or, better yet, an apple pancake like the ones they make at Walker Brothers in Wilmette.

Another thing we found with Rübaeus is that, unlike lambics and other fruit beers, the finish on our palate wasn’t overly sour. That’s attributed to the standard brewing process, instead of waiting for the beer to ferment with the ambient yeast in the air like a lambic. Aside from a good stack of pancakes, we might recommend pairing Rübaeus with something slightly sweet and glazed, like a kabob. As with lambics, Rübaeus would also go well with something that’s just drenched in mustard. It’s good for brats or burgers. Bring a half-case of this to a picnic, and you’ll make new friends. Founder’s Rübaeus is Chicagoist’s “Beer of the Week.”