Bell’s Brings Back ‘Fruit Fight’, With Five Variations
You look at this photo of Bell's Flamingo Fruit Fight and I don't know about you, but that's a mighty fine looking beer. It photographs well.
First things first, though. You have to love a press release that starts with "Two flamingos walk into a bar..." But the news being released is that Bell's has brought back Flamingo Fruit Fight, but brought it back in five variations.
A little background.
Fruit Fight first came out under the umbrella of "Larry's Latest", not quite a mad scientist cooking up something in his laboratory, but true to Bell's beer roots, Flamingo Fruit Fight started out along the lines of "let's try this and see what happens.". What happened was was positive response, and back in the laboratory, the brewers came up with five variations.
The main beer.
The main Flamingo Fruit Fight that clocks in at 5% ABV. Bell's describes it as "tart and refreshing. Flamingo Fruit Fights is brewed with passionfuit and lime zest. Those ingredients are the real stars of this beer, working in a synergistic way to drive tropical and citrus aromas and flavors." (Full disclosure: I'm a big fan of "Sours", especially one from Bell's. This is not a sour, but gose style beers, and sours, are on the same team, and the "tart" description has me curious.) Bell's says it started shipping last week in 12 oz. bottles, packaged in 6-packs, and on draft, and should be available in most places you get your Bell's Beer, but in limited amounts.
The variants.
Now that the main launch is underway, and with warmer weather coming soon, Bell's will release Lemon Lime Flamingo Fruit Fight (4.8% ABV) in May; this is a Gose-style ale brewed with lemon, lime, sea salt and coriander. Also in May, look for Tequila Barrel-Aged Flamingo Fruit Fight, which is the “original” Fruit Fight with a hint of tequila from barrel-aging (Bell's describes it as a cocktail-like beer). Then, in August, look for Raspberry Flamingo Fruit Fight. And finally, in October, Pomegranate Flamingo Fruit Fight.