After the interesting HEMA tompouce beer experiment last year, I got the chance to taste another beer and candy combination, because last week I received a very brightly pink package from Autodrop, a major Dutch manufacturer of winegums and licorice, and Kraftbier, a brewery from Tilburg. This in 2015 established brewery brews nice and drinkable beers, not too complex, but beers for everyone and for every moment.
The package came with a pack of winegums; their famous forest fruit flavoured cadillacs, a nice beer glass and of course a can of beer. The beer Vroemmm is a 5,2% Cadillac Candy IPA, and according to the accompanying letter the first candy IPA in the Netherlands! In addition to the usual suspects, the beer is flavoured with sweet potatoes, carrot concentrates and lactose, so it is not something I can drink a lot of. Luckily, the winegums are lactose free, and gluten free as well, even though they are not vegetarian.
So, a collab between Kraftbier and Autodrop. The beer is available from the Kraftbier webshop and in stores around the Netherlands. The accompanying letter states roughly the following:
The candy and beer world find each other in a fruity IPA, and it is the most crazy crash ever; an IPA with forest fruits flavours. The beer is based on the forest fruit Cadillacs and combined with the Kraftbier IPA recipe, it is the first Candy IPA in the Netherlands. The Cadillacs are a hero in the Autodrop assortment and the box comes with the slogan: “So tasty, it should be brewed,” which is a pun on the Autodrop slogan: “So tasty, it should be forbidden” (this works better in Dutch). According to the letter the brewer tried out the candy ingredients with several of their recipes, to finally find a perfect aroma match with the IPA, made extra fruity with the specially selected hops for this beer. Although this candy brand is famously marketed towards consumption in the car (Autodrop literally translates in Carlicorice if you hadn’t figured that out yet after all the car puns), it is advised to drink this beer in a sunny place when you do not need to drive anymore. The can of Vroemmm therefore clearly states: “Don’t drink and drive!”
| Autodrop en KraftBier stappen in huwelijksbootje en maken eerste Candy IPA Bosvruchtrode Cadillac smaak staat centraal in het nieuwe biertje 10 mei 2022 |
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| Tilburg – Autodrop en KraftBier ontwikkelden samen een uniek biertje; een fris en fruitige IPA. Het biertje smaakt naar de Bosvruchtrode Cadillacs van Autodrop. Daarmee introduceren zij de eerste Candy IPA in Nederland. De IPA is vanaf deze week in-store en online te koop. De snoep- en bierwereld vinden elkaar in een fris en fruitige IPA. Hun perfecte match zit in het licht rebelse en prettig gestoorde karakter van de twee merken. De Bosvruchtrode Cadillac van Autodrop is de basis van de Indian Pale Ale. Daarmee introduceren zij een nieuwe bierstijl in Nederland: De Candy IPA. “Het is de hero onder Autodrop, de iconische smaak van de Cadillac is zo lekker, ‘t zou gebrouwen moeten worden. En dat deden we!” zegt Emma Bloem, Product Manager bij Autodrop. Het roze biertje werd door de brouwers VROEMMM genoemd. Het heeft een opvallende roze verpakking, te herleiden naar het merk Autodrop. Op de verpakking staat een duidelijke waarschuwing: Don’t drink and drive!” De hop die we gebruiken in het bier geeft het bier ook wat extra fruitigheid” zegt Rob van den Meijdenberg, oprichter van KraftBier. De ingrediënten van het snoepje zijn in eerste instantie gemengd met verschillende basisbieren om te kijken waar de perfect match lag. De smaak van het snoepje past uiteindelijk het beste bij die van de IPA. Het biertje VROEMMM is vanaf deze week te verkrijgen in de webshop van KraftBier. Product Manager van Autodrop, Emma Bloem zegt: “Hoewel je onze snoepjes natuurlijk kan nuttigen in de auto, raden we aan om VROEMMM open te trekken op een lekkere plek in de zon als je niet meer hoeft te rijden!” |
But onwards to the most important part: the tasting of the beer!
It is an almost clear amber coloured beer with a red pinkish glow. The foam is oneven, but firm. The beer smells malty and there are distinct forest fruit jelly aromas, slightly chemical, mostly sweet. So sweet that the flavour surprises, and not entirely in a good way. It is not bad, but it is too bitter, way too bitter, even for an IPA. Even with the nice body and fine carbonation. There are still the forest fruit flavours, and there is still some sweetness, but the balance is off. That said, this is definitely more a beer than the much more soda like HEMA beer I talked about before. Interestingly enough the flavours do balance out when you drink the beer while eating a cadillac winegum, something I absolutely did not expect, so that works nicely.
So my advice, if you are going to drink this beer, be sure to have a pack of Cadillac winegums with you as well. Or just drink the much more nicer Kraftbier Hoppagay 😉