Ravens Brewing Co Ruby Red Grapefruit IPA—this is it, I’ve reached the culmination of my fruit beer search, and it turns out to be my perfect IPA! This excellent brew pairs hoppy headiness and subdued malt richness with the bitter tartness of my beloved, long-missed favourite fruit flavour: yellow grapefruit.
The first sip hits hard with grapefruit before mellowing out to a deliciously complex IPA that drinks well on its own or alongside a meal—without forcing its flavour on your dinner, unlike some of the fruit-forward brews I’ve enjoyed.
What’s the story?
I love yellow grapefruit juice mixed with sparkling water. Or I guess I should I say loved yellow grapefruit juice, because I can’t get it anymore. It’s just…gone. (Putting aside the supply chain issues we’ve all experienced over the past few years, have you ever had a favourite food or flavour permanently disappear? Yellow grapefruit juice is just not available in Canada and probably won’t be again. Thanks, climate disruption.)
So, I started trying every grapefruit beer I saw. Often to great disappointment, but I kept trying because Fat Tug proved grapefruit notes are possible with the help of hops! And then I got hurt and lost so much of my sense of smell that I can only taste the fruit in fruit beers if it’s brewed in.
How’s that gonna work for me when there’s not enough yellow grapefruit produced to make juice commercially available, let alone local craft beer?
Okay. Now imagine how thrilled I am to have found Ravens Brewing Co’s Grapefruit IPA. Because I am just over the moon ecstatic! Yes, it’s Ruby Red grapefruit (and the colour of the can reflects that) but as an IPA it reminds me of the bitterness I love in yellow grapefruit even when made with the sweeter variety.

I can mention only two negatives about this beer:
- It’s 7.1% ABV, so it’s not exactly a “have a few” beer. I mean, the reason I didn’t just stick with Fat Tug for my grapefruit needs is it’s 6.8%!
- It’s not on the Raven’s Brewing Co website (they do have a New England IPA with grapefruit and basil—sold out) so I have no idea how long I’ll be able to get it at my local BCLS (which also doesn’t have it listed on the website).
Grapefruit beer to compare
I’ve already mentioned the big comparison, Fat Tug, the granddaddy of BC craft IPAs. Of course, Driftwood Brewing doesn’t actually use grapefruit in its IPA, but if you like one, you’ll probably like the other.
While they’re both true grapefruit beers, Ravens Brewing’s Grapefruit IPA is not as sweet or as malty as Whistler Brewing’s Paradise Valley Grapefruit Ale, which pairs grapefruit zest with blonde ale for a sweet banana/ruby red richness. (Fun fact: drinking this ale both before and after getting hurt is how I discovered I can no longer taste subtle fruit in my beer.)
Finally, what this grapefruit IPA also doesn’t taste like is a Radler. It’s not a juice cutting through the alcohol while lifting the flavour of a light beer, it’s an extra dimension of flavour added to an already flavourful IPA—while making a high-octane beer go down lighter.
Be careful when you pick up some for yourself, is what I mean. And leave some for me!