I like beer. I like strawberries. I can tolerate some anime. Fuggles & Warlock, a brewery near Vancouver (in Richmond, BC), thought they could combine the three into a strawberry wit beer as part of their “core” line-up. Let’s see how they fared!
The Bottle/Can: The Last Strawberry comes in two convenient formats, a bomber (650mL) sold individually and six-packs of cans (350mL). The inference I take from this is that one should drink no less than 650mL of the Last Strawberry at a time. Well played, Fuggles & Warlock! The can’s design leans heavily into a stylized anime princess, adding a delicate touch to your functional alcoholism. Overall, I’m not a big fan of this brewery’s labels, but we’re not really here for the graphic design, are we?
The Colour: Some people seem bothered by the opacity of unfiltered beers. Personally, I think it’s just fine. In combination with the fruit, the Last Strawberry pours as a lovely, deep peach colour. I’m a fan.
The Flavour: My main issue with flavoured beers is that the flavour is often prioritized over the actual beer (looking at you, sours). But here, the “wit” part of this strawberry wit is quite nice and drinkable—read: not very strong—and the strawberry part isn’t overwhelming. Altogether this is a very pleasant wheat beer with a relatively subtle fruit addition. Seeing as many people like to add fruit to their beer already, why not have the brewery do it for you?
The Verdict: Fuggles & Warlock have made some questionable decisions along their beer-making path, such as a kind of dumb name and a predisposition to corny labels. But in drinking the Last Strawberry, there’s nothing questionable at all. While other brewers are focusing on radlers, essentially the vodka coolers of the beer world, the Last Strawberry is a beverage that’s clearly a beer but also easy-drinking and summer-tinged with fruitiness. Delicious!
Beer!
The Fraudsters' Almanac 