Apparently Brasserie {C} figured that the time is right to destroy the relative credibility of their SMASH brand by introducing a sweet red fruit beer to it, cashing in on that annoying 'rouge' hype - even though in this case, the apple, cherry and raspberry aromas seem relatively 'natural' for what it is worth. Huge, foamy, glass-filling, pale off-pink, cobweb-lacing, very rocky and immensely stable head on a clear rosy pale vermillion robe, almost amberish but more red-tilted; quickly turns into a more cardinal red hue when the sediment is added and makes things hazy. Aroma of fruit extracts with raspberry in first position followed by red apple and far less obvious sweet cherry, honey-glazed beetroot, leftover dough, homemade lemonade, hint caramel candy, raspberry-flavoured gelato, almond, pear blossom, honey, touch iron, vague hint of sweat. Sharply carbonated, even a bit 'numbing' onset - but when the sting of the overcarbonation has passed, the fruit unfolds, in a more natural way than expected; apart from the underlying banana and pineapple esters, raspberry juice shows up, behaving rather dominantly, followed by a more modest but still clear appearance of (red sweet) apple - but the expected cherry flavour, which should come in third, remains surprisingly silent in comparison with the first two; slick cereally maltiness ensues, a bit bready but altogether weak and thin, so that the middle and end phases of this beer remain dominated by ongoing raspberry, weaker apple and a bit of cherry juice effects. Meaty proteins pop up in the end, even a 'funky' aspect but not in a very elegant way (more like a sulphuric organic compound of some kind - think spoiled green cabbage); a floral hoppiness provides gentle but in this case much-needed bitterness while fruity sugars and sours linger. Granted, this Crush is a lot more natural in all respects than the average rouge on the market today - I cannot even find anything truly and disturbingly industrial red candy-like here; I guess if viewed that way, this is far from the worst Belgian style top-fermented fruit beer around, but it still is not my cup of tea as its basic 'beery' structures are too weak, it lacks complexity and there is something 'off' about its aroma that I could not quite appreciate. Rating this one is really a matter of weighing the quality of not feeling 'fake' in a world of fake rouges against those flaws, I guess... For me personally, said quality prevails, if only because I passionately hate all those red-candy-like rouges - so have a fairly decent score out of pure spite against those.

Dark pink with a short head. Aroma of sugared raspberries. Flavour is tart sweet berries, dry raspberry on the finish.

Pleasant and refreshing summer drink.
Fine raspberry profile in aroma and flavor.
Pleasant sweetness and a fine carbonation level.
[On tap @ source]

Ruby Red color and a White head. Fruity, Raspberry, cherries, sweet fruity tatsächlich but still Beer flavors.

33cl bottle as “Smash Crush” from Cora in Brussels. F: medium, pink, average retention. C: reddish, hazy. A: raspberries, cherries, citrus touch, bit sugary. T: medium malty base, light cherries, raspberries, bit citrus, some bitterness, medium carbonation, drinkable and nothing memorable for the style.

Cloudy reddish amber with a moderate pinkish frothy head of medium retention. Aroma and taste: various berries, pale malt, soap. Light sweet. Dry ending. Mouth feel: medium minus body , appropriate carbonation. Summary: nothing special.

Huge, bit fluffy pink head, over hazy red to terra cotta beer with sticky lacerings on the glas. Watered red fruitjam, viervruchten with raspberry most prominent. Red fruitjuice, both sweetish and lightly acidic. Fruitacids, almost ripe raspberry, hint of sourish apple. Childrens' drink. Light body, bit slickness seemingly coming from the fruitjuice, getting almost a tad sticky. Not really what we're looking for, no?

22/XI/22 - 33cl bottle @ HoReCa expo (Gent), BB: 21/IX/23 10:02 (2022-1663) Thanks to Erwin, Peter and others for sharing today’s beers.

Clear bright pale red beer, small aery irregular light pink head, unstable, a bit adhesive. Aroma: fruity indeed, some cherries, but also very malty, grains, hay, cow fodder, more cherries, very rural impression overall. MF: ok carbon, medium to light body. Taste: lots of cherries, raspberries, gentle acidity, a bit of artificial fruity flavourings, candy impression. Aftertaste: fruity, bubble gum, strawberries, cherries, some raspberry jam, nice but a little too much in your face with al the fruits.