There are multiple strikes against any product that claims to be tea and beer. From the simple fact that it seems like a really odd combination to the possibility of getting kicked out of the manly-man’s club for drinking them, they haven’t been at the top of my list to try. However, I had an opportunity to try two different brands at a small get together over the holiday and, as the title of this article belies, I was surprised. Really, the only problem with these drinks is that they are called beer and are only beer in the sense that they are derived from beer, not that they taste like beer in any way. This is what I tried and what I liked:
Twisted Tea Original Recipe:
Twisted Tea is made by the Twisted Tea Brewing Company and is located in Cincinatti, Oh. It is owned by the same company that owns Samuel Adams. The goal of all of the Twisted Tea products is to make a product that replicates iced tea as closely as possible but with alcohol thrown in the mix. The package states that Twisted Tea is a “malt beverage” meaning derived from beer but also notes that it is made with natural teas.
When I cracked this open, I was surprised, first of all, that it was not carbonated. While this makes sense since they are going for the authentic tea experience, it really made me dubious about the beer portion of the equation. When I took my first sip, I had to re-read the label to make sure there was actually alcohol in the bottle. To be honest, I couldn’t tell that there was any alcohol in the product, likely because of the sweetness of the tea. The tea itself is good and on par with other bottled tea products and the lemon flavor is quite authentic tasting.
While good, in terms of tea this product is, frankly, kid’s stuff. I enjoy the taste of beer and I like knowing that there is alcohol in products I am consuming that have alcohol in them. This type of concoction is for the newly-legal crowd that doesn’t have a palate for drinking and is drinking for social reasons or for courage. If offered at a backyard get together I would accept but I won’t be seeking it out.
Lindemans Tea Beer
Lindeman’s Tea Beer is a Lambic style beer made in the old tradition of wild-fermentation. Lindemans is based out of Brussels, Belgium and has been around since the early 1800’s. They make a number of beers and a good selection of them are based around the Lambic style recipe. The Tea Beer is no exception and proves that a good Lambic can be made into just about anything. The Tea beer is made from the Lambic base which then is used to help pull the tea flavor out of the tea leaves. Lemon and lime juice is added to the mix to enhance the tea flavoring experience.
The Lindemans’ Tea Beer was available at the same gathering as the Twisted Tea. This is more of a true hybrid of beer and tea. While carbonated, it seems a bit less so than a normal beer and retains a bit of the beer taste through the tea and citrus flavor. While different, I found myself preferring this over the Twisted Tea. It is much more balanced from a sweet and sour perspective and had a nice beer crispness. However, I seemed to be in the minority at the get together being the only one that preferred the Lindemans over the Twisted Tea; enjoying the balance of flavors over the complete absence of anything but tea.
