Out of Order Fish From Sweden

Review Date 5/19/2025 By John Staradumsky

  Style: Fruit Beer   Brewery: rar   Country: USA   State: Maryland   $ Per OZ: $.35   ABV: 5%

Swedish Fish? Get out of here! Who didn’t love Swedish Fish as a kid? Come to think of it, who doesn’t love Swedish Fish as an adult? I know I do love them so. When I was young, they were penny candy; now with inflation they’re nickel or dime candy. Still, they’re tasty little critters and I wonder why someone hasn’t made a beer out of them…

What’s that? Someone did? They did indeed, and having obtained a can I am here to tell you all about Out of Order Fish From Sweden from Maryland’s Rar Brewery. Rar has a whole line of Out of Order sours, and though this is the first of them I have tried, it certainly will not be the last.

Rar says on their website:

BREWED W/ COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF STRAWBERRY, LINGONBERRY, RED FISH GUMMIES AND LACTOSE.

The lingonberries are key here, and they are what puts the Swedish in Swedish Fish. If you’ve been to Ikea and ordered upa  plate of Swedish meatballs, well, they are served with a dollop of lingonberry jam on the side. Here, we get a double dose of them, both in the candy and straight up in the brew.

Out of Order Fish From Sweden has an alcohol content of 5% by volume and I paid $5.99 for a can from Half Time. That’s only 50 cents more a can than the $22 a 4-pack the brewery sells it for on their website. They do ship to a number of states, though Georgia is not one of them. My can had no freshness dating.

Out of Order Fish From Sweden pours to a murky, pinkish red color with a medium fluffy head and a nose of tart sour berry fruit. The beer has a slushy, Slurpee-like chunky appearance. Taking a sip, it’s thick in mouthfeel sliding luxuriantly over the tongue. There’s red berry lingonberry and strawberry and citrus fruit, and Swedish fish gummy candy notes, too. The beer finishes very tart and sour and very refreshing. It’s a tad Sweet but the sour balances that at the last.

Smooth and drinkable, I very much enjoyed this beer and can imagine enjoying a glass with a plate piled high with Swedish meatballs. I’ll be looking for more of it, as well as other entries in the series.

Glad I tried it?  T

Would I rebuy it??