Brewery – Urban Artifact
Beer – Squeezebox
Style – Midwest Fruit Tart Ale
ABV – 8.5%
PH – 3.35

Bellows-driven free-reed chordal instruments have developed around the globe as part of traditional music. This Midwest Fruit Tart has 3,000lbs of strawberries, and 60g of vanilla beans per 30bbl batch.

This beer uses a house culture of Lactobacillus along with traditional ale yeast to create a whirlwind of flavors.  Topped off with a blast of fresh strawberries it ends up as a strawberry smoothie-like punch of tart flavor in your glass.

The beer was one of the first from their Midwest Fruit Tart Ale series to hit packaging, and after this and the Gadget were so well enjoyed by Cincinnati, the legacy of the Midwest Fruit Tart Ale really began.  There’s no looking back now – these beers are as much of Urban Artifact as is anything else they’ve even dreamed of doing.

This beer was first put into packaging via 12oz bottles on 4/3/17 before getting the can treatment the following year on 3/13/18 alongside a few minor label modifications.  As per usual Urban Artifact MWFT releases, they usually give this a few variants to go with it.

Variant Releases

• Chocolate Strawberry – (2017)
• Hazelnut & Chocolate – (2018)
• Lemon Basil Sorbet – (2017, 2018)
• Orangeberry Smoothie – (2018, 2019)
• Orange Smoothie – (2020)
• Strawberries and Cream – (2019)
• Strawberry Basil Sorbet – (2021)
• Strawberry Churro – (2021)
• Strawberry Jalapeño Jam – (2018)
• Strawberry Margarita – (2017, 2018, 2019)
• Strawberry Shortcake – (2018, 2019, 2020)

My Thoughts On Urban Artifact Squeezebox

I’m in love with this beer, and I’m heartbroken each year when my small supply runs out.  Urban Artifact is is doing some really spectacular things, and this one should be seen as a trophy of what they are able to accomplish with the fruited sours that so many people love.

It’s not traditionally “pretty” in the glass, a murky pinkish-orange color, with a thin and extremely quickly dissipating head on it.

Aromas start to hint at what lies within though, with a bready note sitting alongside a fresh fruit aroma.  It smells like the berry section of your favorite farmer’s market in the spring.  Light, fruity, and slightly floral.

The taste is a bright punch of tart acidity, balanced out with a blast of berry sweetness.  The whole package is then held together with a big thick mouthfeel and a breadiness that makes this taste like a bite of delicious strawberry shortcake.  This beer is filling and hides its 8.5% ABV extremely well.  It’s a dangerous friend.

I love this beer… deeply.