One of the great things about homebrewing is that there are pretty much no limits on what you can do. Want to make a Double Chocolate Cherry Coconut Stout? Go right ahead. How about a Tripel Threat Belgian Abbey Style Banana Ale? The sky’s the limit. And typically, homebrewers love to concoct beers just like that.

This is readily apparent when you consider the Samuel Adams Longshot line of homebrews cum microbrews. Boston Beer, the makers of Sam Adams beers, have run these contests in the past-and brought beer enthusiasts such exotic treats as a Hazelnut Brown Ale and a Molasses Coffee Stout.

For the latest batch of LongShot beers released in 2007, the exotic tradition continues with Ken Smith’s LongShot Bosyenberry Wheat. Ken, a Boston Beer employee and Colorado native, has managed to create a delightful treat that is both refreshing and flavorful. And did I mention that it is a very quaffable brew indeed?

Fruit beers, sadly, are a disrespected lot. Some beer geeks dismiss them entirely, while those unfamiliar with craft beers regard them as they might a three headed emu. For my part, I love them when properly done (as this one is). After all, what are hops if not the spice of beer, and if we can’t spice up life with variety (i.e. fruit) from time to time as the saying goes, then the country’s done for as Dickens might say.

The boysenberry, of course, is not as common a fruit as the strawberry, blueberry, or raspberry. In point of fact, it is a cross between the raspberry, blackberry, and loganberry according to Wikipedia. I don’t believe I have tasted it in a beer before, but here it works exceedingly well.

Longshot Boysenberry Wheat pours to a cloudy orange amber color with a thick spritzy head of foam and a soft fruity berry nose. Upon sipping, you’ll discover a medium bodied beer with a crackery wheat and malt body that is immediately overtaken by the assertive berry flavor that is reminiscent of a raspberry/blueberry mélange.

Fruit beers are often criticized for being too sweet, but that’s not the case here. The crisp German Hallertau hops in the bitterness offer a balancing dryness and slight bitterness that is usually absent in wheat beers. Here, they add to the beer’s definite refreshing character.

I think this one has wide appeal, even to those who normally eschew fruit beers. A refreshingly different brew and a welcome member of the 2007 LongShot triumvirate.