This was sent to me for review last fall, and I’m finally getting around to it. Definitely not winter, but a shandy/radler seems like the proper ticket after working to refurbish a dresser. Except for the lack of the embossed Sam Adams signature on the bottle, label and date notch style are exactly like a Boston Beer. A definite citrus fruit smell under the cap. Pours an amber color and initially kicks up a lot of foamy head in my shaker glass. Those "winter spices" are first up on the tongue, and do give this a bit of wassail character. There’s a mild fruit tartness after that that seems "juicier," more the pomegranate, then a bit of orange. The mouthfeel is pretty thin, like one usually gets for a shandy. I think mixing one’s own with a "substantive" juice like a pulpy lemonade or OJ might help this style. But still, this is a project company that’s staking its claim to the shandy category, and I can’t fault them for trying to make a winter seasonal version.

So, how many travelers will there be? A hundred, a thousand, a million? A brazillion? From a $2 bottle we have doughy apple candy perfume permutating on my olfactory. Looks like a light hazy hefe or a witbier. Was expecting something overly sweet but this is not. Good balance of dull apple flavors against a light beer. Surprisingly good initial lacing. Lacing fades like tissue T shirt that gets wet. Yes, taste is quite apple and I’m just hoping nothing is artificial in this brew. Well, at least the label sheds light that the apple juice is added after fermentation. Yes, there is just a tad of lemon oil in thar’. Bring on the next traveler, I’m gonna’ make a lucrative business on these tourists. Hopen’ the unfermented sugar doesn’t hurt my tummy.

Bottle from Total Wine in Folsom, CA. As Illusive Traveler Grapefruit Ale. Pours very hazy, somewhat dirty, gold with a very slight head. Aroma seems more orange/lemon than grapefruit. Med minus body. Flavor is kind of citrus candy, except there is citrus zest, and it is bitter. Probably ok on a really hot day, but it isn’t really appealing. And I love grapefruit.

Bottle. 10th radler/shandy. Pours yellow white head. Nose/taste of lemon juice, wheat, light sweet sugar - light bodied. Refreshing, I guess.

Bottle. Pours gold white head. Nose of rotten lemon peel, grapefruit juice and a little upchuck. Taste is grapefruit juice, wheat, lemon - light bodied.

Bottle. Cloudy yellow color, coca cola bubbles. Aroma of lemonade, pineapple. Taste is very fruity citrus, subtle cherry, more pineapple.

12 oz bottle. Aroma is better than the grapefruit, thankfully. It’s strong in lemon and lemon peel, grainy, generic beer, and most importantly doesn’t have that vomity character the grapefruit had. Cloudy orange-gold pour with a medium white head with decent retention. Nice extreme lemon character, peel and juice; wheaty. High carbonation, thin body. Much better than the grapefruit shandy overall.

12 oz bottle from a six pack. Aroma is grapefruit, vomit, generic beer, bread. Pours cloudy orange with a medium white head with good retention. Taste is sweet (was expecting tart), grainy, grapefruit, wheaty, finishes dry and lightly bitter. Creamy mouthfeel, thin body. I thought the scores on here were low for this. Beer snobs tend to look down on these shandies and radlers, after all. I was expecting a refreshingly tart beer with strong grapefruit flavor. After drinking it, I know the low scores this is getting are well-deserved! It’s not terrible, but I thought it was going to be one of those underrated beers that I tend to like. Not so.

Poured from bottle hazy gold with a frothy foam. Aromas of fresh lemon and zest. Taste is beer with lemon not overly lemonade like.