BEER REVIEWS: Fruited Sours

My search for the best beer in New York continues….

It seems like fruited sour beers have become as ubiquitous as Double IPAs were a few years ago. And when you add some lactose or milk sugar, you have a very on trend craft beer. Here are a few I’ve tried recently. And as you’ll see, I’m not sure I really like the style. I thought I did but these recent offerings mostly prove otherwise:

PIÑA POP from Grimm Artisan Ales

I don’t understand what has happened to the craft beer world. I’m generalizing here, but some of the most celebrated breweries seem to make these overly saccharine sour candy beers. It’s like I’m drinking a bag of sour patch kids (which I never liked).

This brings me to the Piña Pop! one of Grimm’s celebrated sour Pop! beers. On paper, it all sounds good to me but there was something off-putting in my adult mind here.

I think it’s the unnecessary addition of vanilla. I enjoyed the fresh pineapple and hops on the nose and my first few sips opened up quite sour with a hint of tropical fruitiness. It wasn’t bad.

But then the golden hazy beer quickly devolves into this sickly lollipop (maybe where the Pop! comes from?) sweetness. It really grossed me out.

I pushed on and as the beer started to warm up, it started to mellow out and I began to tolerate it. But come on, should I really need to “tolerate” a beer?

You can’t please all the people all the time and I’m afraid this one (and many of the other candy-like brews) is just not for me.

OODLES OF OODLES from Interboro Spirits & Ales

Wow! I had a very specific thought about what color the Oodles of Oodles would be and I was very very wrong.

For some reason, I was expecting a golden blonde, but instead I got a rich dark ruby. I love surprises!

This jam packed sour had lots of bubbles but no head (could be how long I kept it before drinking). It did still have a sweet creamy nose with lots of berries and wheat.

My mind was a bit blown when I managed to taste every single flavor listed on the can – practically all at once. Blackberry and raspberries (matching the color) came up front and it soon mellowed out into sweet mango and creamy banana with coconut.

I found this very interesting. Even the vanilla was pleasant (and thankfully a bit subtle). It’s very much a fruit salad kind of experience but balanced beautifully between sweet and sour (with even a bit of savoriness thrown in).

GIMME GIMME KIWI STRAWBERRY from Kills Boro Brewing Co.

Staten Island’s most recent brewery has a line of fruited sours (doesn’t every brewery at this point?) called Gimme Gimme. The Kiwi Strawberry version was the first I had a chance to try and I must say I was a bit underwhelmed, especially with the promise of a unique ingredient like kiwi.

Gimme Gimme had a vibrant golden peach color with a hint of red hue. The white head quickly disappeared and left with it aromas of strawberry candy, sugar, and lactose.

I could tell it would be too sweet for me and it was, along with an overwhelming candy sourness. Fruit is present somewhere but it was hard for me to distinguish what it was. I don’t think I would have thought kiwi if the green can didn’t proclaim it.

Again, vanilla is the most prominent flavor here with a persistent sour backbone. I was able to finish it, but I was expecting a bit more restraint here.

 TART DECO RASPBERRY PEACH SOUR IPA IPA from TALEA Beer Co.

I also happened to discover that I had a small can of TALEA’s Tart Deco Raspberry Peach Sour IPA that I purchased many months ago. This was part of their collection of Fruit Sour IPAs. Shortly after my visit to the brewery, I figured I’d give that one a try as well.

It poured a much darker shade of ruby than I expected and gave off very strong raspberry scents. Definitely as advertised in that department. On the mouth, the raspberry overwhelmed and it provided both a sticky sweet flavor and a big sour punch. In fact, I made the face my mom often does when she drinks a sip of alcoholic (it’s the same face you’d expect a child to make).

Took me a bit to take a few more sips, but actually as it warmed up and I adjusted, I picked up some peach notes, which were nice but didn’t help round it out at all. To me the beer tasted very much like an intense sour candy or soda. I tend to like sweet and sour, but was never a fan of those candies and this didn’t do it for me, I’m afraid.

HOLD MY HAND from Greenpoint Beer & Ale Co.

Greenpoint Beer & Ale Co. has slowed the breaks on this fruit sour turning away from the overly sweet milk sugar additions and relying instead on fruit and yeast. And I think it mostly works.

Hold My Hand pours a dark ruby almost light purple color and reveals juicy blueberries and some baked cherries on the nose.

It’s quite sour up front but mellow out as it warms and nicely mingles with an unusual but pronounced hit of lime. It gives it a tropical dimension, which was surprising and delicious.

It’s a really easy sour to drink with cooked blueberry notes through and the interesting addition of sour limes. Different than what most have been doing and I applaud them for that.

W9 from Transmitter Brewing

Last but certainly not least, we come to a brewery that has been working with specialty yeasts and sours from the beginning of their existence. Transmitter Brewing never disappoints and their W9 (a few steps up from their W3 I reviewed last year) is no exception.

This sour is modeled more after a classic German gose than the modern American milk sugar fruit sours. Here this kettle sour is conditioned on plums during a secondary fermentation. The result is a golden clear bubbly ale with a very faint hue of ruby.

Juicy sweet stone fruits permeate on the nose and it drinks as a refreshing thirst quencher with a nice balance between sweet, salty, and sour. It has a rich juicy flavor but a mellow backbone to make it a beer I could drink all day long.

Is Grimm Artisanal Ales” Piña Pop! the best beer in NY? Overly sweet and sour, this pineapple beer had an out of whack addition of sweet vanilla that made me feel this belonged more in a kids candy store than a serious brewery. I almost wasn’t able to finish it and have to leave it at a. 6 out of 10.

Is Interboro Spirits & Ales’ Oodles of Oodles the best beer in NY? I was very impressed and surprised by both the rich ruby color and the fact that I could taste every fruit added to this bold fruit salad drink. A nice balanced beer that takes you on a bit of a fruit journey. 8 out of 10.

Is Kills Boro Brewing Company’s Gimme Gimme Kiwi Strawberry the best beer in NY? Not my favorite and gets a 6 out of 10 for have a sadly misrepresented name with no discernible hint of kiwi flavor and an overwhelming sweet vanilla strawberry sour candy experience.

Is TALEA Beer Co’s Tart Deco Raspberry Peach IPA the best beer in NY? This overly sour and sweet fruit punch did not do it for me. It reminded me of an intense sour candy. I actually considered not finishing it. But it might be exactly what some people want to drink. But for me, it gets a  6 out of 10.

Is Greenpoint Beer & Ale Co.’s Hold My Hand the best beer in NY? It’s one of the more interesting and restrained options on this list with juicy cooked blueberry notes and a distinct tropical lime addition. Sour and sweet and refined. 8 out of 10.

Is Transmitter Brewing’s W9 the best beer in NY? This classic style gose is expertly balanced with juicy plums and makes for a very pleasurable thirst quencher. It’s my favorite of the bunch and gets a 9 out of 10.