Guru Brew Watermelon & Hibiscus Ale

Review Date 7/21/2024  By John Staradumsky

  Style: Fruit Beer   Brewery: Reverie   Country: USA   State: Connecticut   $ Per OZ: N/A   ABV: 5.4%

Welcome, Reverie brewing of Newtown, Connecticut, to Guruofbrew.com! We’re happy to have you here, and I am always especially pleased to add a new brewery from New England. I was born and raised there (Rhode Island and Massachusetts, mind you), and cut my teeth in the 80s and 90s on wonderful New England craft beer.

Connecticut bordered Rhode Island, and I drank a lot of fine beers from breweries still going strong today, like New England and Willimantic. Others, like New Haven (Elm City beers) and Frog N’ Hound are sadly long defunct. I don’t see many brews from the Nutmeg State these days, but when I do I pounce on then.

So, back to Reverie and specifically their Guru Brew Watermelon & Hibiscus Ale. What better first review for guruofbrew than Guru Brew? Ninkasi be praised. There’s no information on the brewery website for this beer but the label says:

Escape to a much-needed getaway and find your inner guru with the most delightful brew around. This smooth and balanced golden ale takes a tropical turn with a twist of real watermelon and hibiscus.

Slightly sweet and minimally sour, this beer has low bitterness and maltiness complemented by a slight hint of corn from addition of LesserEvil popcorn in the mash.

Consider this brew a little slice of paradise.

Low maltiness? OK, I get the low bitterness part in a fruit beer, but low maltiness? What’s up with that? It always boils ny blood when some beer geek says a beer is “too malty”. Malt is the lifeblood of beer, it should sing in every glass. Don’t take it from me, Michael Jackson, the one and only Beer Hunter said that. And he was right.

Reverie Guru Brew has an alcohol content of 5.4% by volume and I paid $6.49 for a pint can from Half Time. There was no freshness dating.

Guru Brew Watermelon & Hibiscus Ale pours to a bright pink color with a thick fluffy white head and a nose of soft watermelon fruit and vanilla. Taking a sip, the beer is light and crisp with biscuity malt but even moreso refreshing watermelon fruit. It’s not at all sweet but well balanced. The flowery, earthy hibiscus helps with that, and there’s a gentle balancing hop bitterness at the last, too. I didn’t really get the popcorn, but popcorn does not have a lot of flavor in and of itself.

A very tasty fruit beer, and judged as such gets 4 stars from me. Extra credit for the cool name. Hey, we gurus of brew have to stick together.

Glad I tried it?  T

Would I rebuy it??