Fruit City, Fruited Smoothie Sour
date: label: date made
content: 2021
label: date made
content: 2020
notes: label: Description
content: Modist Brewing Company, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, debuted this beer, "Fruit City," on June 13, 2020. The style of beer is a fruited "smoothie sour," which became popular around 2020. These were an evolution of "milkshake India Pale Ales (IPAs)," first brewed in the U.S. around 2015, which used milk sugar (lactose), fresh fruit, vanilla beans, and ample hops to generate beers whose flavor profiles, appearances, and mouthfeel drew comparisons to milkshakes or creamsicles. The fruited smoothie sour style typically contains a substantial quantity of fresh fruit purée.These styles were emblematic of U.S. craft brewers' efforts to experiment with non-traditional ingredients as the number of breweries in the U.S. continued to expand. In 2020, the Brewers Association counted almost 9,000 breweries in operation.
label: Description
content: The labels feature an illustration of Fruit City, populated by blueberries, blackberries, and black currants. The illustration contains multiple references to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests. The berries that are kayaking and tubing on the river, playing beach volleyball, and walking on the street are wearing face masks. A helicopter in the shape of a blackberry is landing on the roof of a hospital, indicated by the sign "Berryview Medical." A brick wall is tagged with graffitti that reads, "#JusticeForGeorgeFloyd." In 2021, the design for this can won a Gold "Crushie" award at the Craft Beer Marketing Awards in the category of Best Can Design/Pandemic-Related. The label art is by Tyler Mithuen.
label: Description
content: Modist Brewing Company described this beer as "brewed w/ malted wheat and barley, milk sugar, blueberry, blackberry, and black currant." It contained 6.3% alcohol by volume. Modist Brewing Co. debuted this beer at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic was impacting all sectors of the American economy and American social life. Black Lives Matter protests were spreading around the world in the aftermath of the May 25, 2020, murder of Minneapolis resident George Floyd by Minneapolis Police Department officer Derek Chauvin.
place: label: place made
content: United States: Minnesota, Minneapolis
topic: label: associated subject
content: Infectious diseases
label: associated subject
content: COVID-19 (Disease)
label: associated subject
content: Public Health
label: associated subject
content: 2019-nCoV disease
label: associated subject
content: Disease prevention
label: associated subject
content: 2019 novel coronavirus disease
label: related event
content: COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-2023
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Food Technology
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Modist Brewing Company
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2021.0135.4
label: accession number
content: 2021.0135
label: catalog number
content: 2021.0135.4
objectType: label: Object Name
content: can
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: aluminum (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 15.75 cm x 6.5 cm x 6.5 cm; 6 3/16 in x 2 9/16 in x 2 9/16 in