The Perfect Balance
Kern River Brewing Company

16 oz can
Pretty enough. Straw to gold in color. Bountiful white fluff holds on for the first few minutes and then settles into a nice, stubborn 1/2 finger of foam. Layered lacing. Solid retention.
Nose is a smooth and steady. Floral melon, citrus zest, and a generic tropical air.
Flavor Starts off with an overall floral approach to berry, mild citrus zest, grass, and a mild spice.
Mouthfeel is n the lighter side, good carbonation, and finishes a bit dry in its bitterness.
Overall, maybe the "balance" in the name indicates that this one does not punch you with hops. It is on the smoother, subtle side.

i generally dont like NZ hops, but that's all we've seemingly got lately.... beautiful look on the pour!

16 oz can into a pint glass

Cloudy, straw-yellow appearance, medium carbonation leaves a wispy, residual head.

Punchy bouquet, floral and citrusy. Flavors have that signature melon/tropical note from Nelson hops, but overall profile is weirdly floral…almost West Coast meets Northwest. Not sure it works. Medium, clean finish.

Not bad, but not what I was expecting from two of my favorite breweries.

I was pretty excited to try this one. I mean, Kern is the Tupac of brewing… And we also have Pure here, which doesn’t really give much thought. They’re probably like that froggy sounding dude that rapped on that song with Tupac. Anyway, I’m kind of inbetween on this one - Nelson is the hottie at the party, but Strata is that one chick who has good and bad days. And today? I wouldn’t ask her to be my beer pong partner… Not that I ever played that nasty, bacteria filled game. But I think that you get the idea.