Berkshire Brewing Co.: Cabin Fever (Winter, '06)

So, I was downtown during lunchbreak to buy Decemberists tickets, and I thought I'd stop by the highly-touted Parish Cafe for lunch. I'd heard very good things about their sandwiches, and I know they are proud of serving local brews. It turns out, they get recipes from chefs from all over town. The place is always crowded, and the prices are throught he roof, but I'll definitely go back again. The beer menu was local drafts plus the typical domestics, and the bottled menu was extensive for such a little cafe, and the beer prices were average. The menu listing for the sandwich I got (of course, the most expensive one on the menu) is below. It was great, but certainly not worth $15. The beer was interesting. It being just before winter holidays, all of the local beers on tap were seasonals. I picked the Berkshire Brewing Company "Cabin Fever" because I hadn't had it. It was a terrible choice to go with the sandwich, but before and after the sandwich I definitely enjoyed it.
The aroma is definitely sparkling apple cider. It tastes very much like some kind of fruit cider. If it has any alcohol in it, it's completely covered up and tastes very light and fruity. It was definitely a thirst-quencher that I would prefer to have in warmer weather. Hops are present in a good way, but just barely. It's a sad fact that many northeastern breweries tend to make these sweet, spiced winter ales that fail to add anything valuable to the many Belgian, American and other fancy beers that have already done the rounds with fruit and spices. I'm not sure whether BBC used actual spices or fruit, but the overall flavor is mostly fruit and little beer. However, I do think this is better than most and would be great as a spring (northeastern spring... not southern) seasonal to drink before a meal or a beer that counts as a meal (stouts, porters, heavy ales, etc).
One thumb up for doing better than their rivals, but the other thumb down for making a dissapointing style of beer just as plain as always.
As they often do, Beer Advocate reviewers disagreed with my opinion, rating it 85 overall. http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33/7763. I maintain an ambivalent score between 70 and 80.

**The Blue Ginger / $15.50
Created by: Ming Tsai, Chef/ Owner - The Blue Ginger, Wellesley
A grilled, RARE tuna steak brushed with teriyaki glaze on scallion foccacia with avocado, wasabi aioli, lettuce and tomato. Served with a mild Asian slaw.