Years ago I reviewed a very popular Banana Beer. It was a fun novelty, but I didn’t love it. Nor have I had it since. It just seemed too candy-like for me. Faux banana flavor was not what I was looking for. Fast forward to present day, a fellow beer enthusiast co-worker of mine told me he would hook me up with a banana beer that actually tasted like real banana. He assured me I would enjoy it. Here goes…
Andean Brewing Co Kuka Banana Nut Brown Ale pours a deep mahogany color with red edges. I had to pour rather aggressively to get a head to form. The head was foamy, one finger thick and tan, but disappeared quickly. The aroma brought on two things very quickly. First, a lot of malt. Second, freshly peeled banana. The taste is brings on toasted malts, a slight nuttiness and ripe banana. At times vanilla and cocoa or present. The mouth feel is thin to medium with sharp carbonation. The 5.5% abv made this very easy to drink. The finish is sweet with lingering banana. Overall, I would gladly revisit this beer. As opposed to the one I previously tried years ago. This has restored my faith that bananas and beer can come together harmoniously. I can even think of a few baking applications for this brew. If you come across this one, be sure to check it out! Here’s to Good Beers!
***Note: At the time of this post, Andean Brewing Co.’s website seemed to be having issues. Their active Twitter page was linked instead.
