M-43 Tart Strawberry N.E. I.P.A.

Review Date 8/8/2025 By John Staradumsky

  Style: Fruit Beer   Brewery: Old Nation   Country: USA   State: Michigan   $ Per OZ: $.27(B)   ABV: 6.8%

Here’s the first variant I’ve run across on the popular Old Nation M-43 N.E. India Pale Ale: Old Nation M-43 Tart Strawberry NE India Pale Ale. The brewery says on the label this is part of their “New Orthodox India Pale Ale Series”, whatever that is. I am not so sure what is orthodox about an IPA made with strawberries; indeed this seems rather unorthodox to me. Be that as it may, I was eager to try it. Who doesn’t love tart strawberries?

I headed on over to the brewery website to learn more about the beer:

A tart variation of our flagship New England IPA, M-43, Tart Strawberry M-43 has the same taste and haziness you know and love with subtle additions of strawberry aroma, flavor, and tartness to accentuate that addition. With its combination of Calypso, Simcoe, Citra, and Amarillo hops. Citrus and tropical notes of Pineapple, Mango, and Grapefruit come through in the huge, yet surprisingly delicate aroma.

Old Nation M-43 Tart Strawberry NE India Pale Ale has an alcohol content of 6.8% by volume with 65 IBUs and I paid $5.49 for a single pint can at Woodstock Beer Market. It was running $16.99 a four-pack at Total Wine at the time. My can is stamped  04/11/24 on the bottom, the canning date, and I drank it about a year later. It sat in my beer fridge for most of that time. It held up quite well.

Old Nation M-43 Tart Strawberry NE India Pale Ale pours to a hazy yellow orange color with a thick fluffy white head and a nose of enticing tart berry fruit. Taking a sip, the beer is medium in body and the berry fruit pops right away, along with hints of the tropical fruit (pineapple and grapefruit) Old Nation mentions. More than that, though, I get strawberry pop-tart notes, the bright sweet fruit from the pastry and the pastry itself from the gentle malt. No frosting here, of course. The beer finishes refreshingly tart with only a hint of hop bitterness, but the tartness does make it quite refreshing.

Enjoyable, drinkable, and perfect for a warm summer’s eve. More a fruit beer than an IPA for me, so that is how I will style it. Your mileage may vary. I would definitely buy it again all the same.