Pink Panther | Braustelle

2.32/5  rDev -21.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.5

On-draught @ Braustelle. Brewed with barley malt, wheat malt, and hibiscus. Notes below are regrettably brief given a less than ideal review environment.

A: No head, really. Nontransparent bright red brew of average vibrance.

Sm: Fruit, flowers (I guess hibiscus), neutral malts, sticky fruit puree. Seems a biteen artificial. Aromatic intensity is average.

T: Tastes artificial, like fake fruit flavouring. Malt backbone is neutral, letting the sticky fruit dominate. Not balanced; it's too sweet. Not a fan of this build.

Mf: Sticky, slightly syrupy (or at least thick like puree), smooth, wet, unrefreshing. Medium bodied.

O: Its high sweetness and sticky mouthfeel will turn it off to discerning drinkers. Indeed, it fits into the now-tired and decidedly non-P.C. stereotype of "beer for women," bringing only a fruity flavour to the table. Not undrinkable, not particularly enjoyable.

D+ / NOT RECOMMENDED

★ 916 characters

3.26/5  rDev +10.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

This German beer brewed with hibiscus-flower adjuncts is a complete violation of Reinheitsgebot and I wonder how the brewer escaped being brought to the court-martial.
375 ml, BB date says December 2010 so just slightly past its prime.
Pour into tulip gives birth to raspberry-red body with good clarity (gets hazed with additional pours) overlain by medium, resistant frothy white head with pinkish glow shining through. Tart aroma of hibiscus flowers interplays with somewhat biscuity malty sweetness of the underlying beer. The flavor is malty sweetness with juicy tartness of hibiscus rolled in matrix with wheaty texture. A touch of hoppy bitterness emerges towards the very clean, slightly astringent dry finish. A combination of sweet malt and hibiscus provides an unique fruity character of all sorts of tart berries. Nearly medium bodied with moderate carbonation, and quite refreshing.

★ 895 characters