Summer is coming. This means longer days, a general increase in the will to live, and one of my favourite seasonal hobbies: picnics.
The sun is shining, your friends are all sitting around a gingham blanket like cute woodland fairies, and you get that sweet boozy buzz that comes from a little park tipple. What’s not to love?
One roadblock to my perfect picnic, however, is my drink preference. When I was 18 I could drink anything. If it had alcohol in it, I was good to go. Now, (like most women in their mid-twenties) I’m almost exclusively a wine gal – and preferably a red wine gal.
You can see how this presents a problem as I’m lugging heavy bottles in my little tote across the city, and trying to sip on warm (vom) red wine on a summer’s day. It’s just… not the vibe.
So, with the impending picnic weather, I taste-tested some cans from Dan Murphy’s new Fruity Beer sub-category to see if it’s going to be a Beer Girl Summer.
Beer is often the last thing I’d choose to drink. It’s heavy, usually bitter (to me, anyway), and basically reminds me of poor life choices. But there’s no denying that cans are much more picnic (and summer) friendly.
I know what you’re thinking, ‘Fruity beer still tastes like beer, right?’ Wrong.
The cans look more reminiscent of pre-mixed cocktails; colourful, cute, and compact enough to fit in your tote. The Sungazer cans in particular had font that screamed to be featured in an aesthetic TikTok vid. The Natural Watermelon Flavour was reminiscent of my favourite 2004 Lip Smacker, bringing all of the summer nostalgia, and the Natural Raspberry Flavour literally tasted like a soft drink.
“How is this beer?!” I kept exclaiming to my friends. I checked the back of the cans multiple times just to check that it wasn’t some seltzer-beer-cocktail hybrid but nope, it’s 100% beer.
The Mosey fruity beers come in the flavours lime, passionfruit, and even blueberry, which I believe the beer aficionados would call a “sour”. Each flavour is super light and summery. Like, sitting-in-a-park-while-listening-to-The-Hottest-100 summery. The Empire fruity beer range is also low in sugar which is perfect for those of us who love a fruity can but don’t want the sugar crash (and subsequent headaches) that can come with having a couple of drinks.
Overall, this truly yassified beer is a fab alternative for those of us that aren’t into ya Dad’s old school beers but still want a refreshing can to sip on a summer’s day. Honestly, I’m just grateful I won’t need to default to warm red wine or lug a cooler around for my rosé this picnic season.
As always, drink responsibly, folks.
