Okinawa Sour
Temple Brewing Company

 

Ere’s a new one for me: Temple Brewing. Never tried any of their beers yet. Normally I would go with my “Biggest Beer Litmus Test” (BBLiT) to determine if I like Temple Brewing or not, but this 4% ABV Okinawa Sour beer with Shikuwasa fruit from Okinawa is hardly going to be the biggest beer on offer at Temple. Rather this time I’ve undoubtedly been suckered in by a Fruit Beer brewed with an exotic fruit I’ve never heard of, which I’m guessing was Temple’s idea from the start [clever bastards!]. So what are we to expect from this Shikuwasa fruit I’ve never heard of before? “citrus rind and grippy fruit tartness” the label replies. My interest has in fact been piqued.

Poured from a 330ml bottle into a Duvel tulip.

A: Intriguing colour, sort of a cloudy OJ mixed with pineapple juice, let’s say a yellowy-orange body with a slightly off-white head that slowly fizzles back to a thin blanket on top. This already has my imagination blazed. 6/10.

S: It gets even more interesting in the aroma department with a pervading lemon sherbet character throughout. Hints of a barnyard/peppery Brett yeast, and some lime soda notes as well. This is about as crisp and citrusy as a beer can get IMO, looking forward to the big “T”. 8/10.

T: Quite dry... think I might need a glass of water. Overall not what you would expect a beer to taste like: lemon sherbet, lime soda and a touch of orange soft drink cut through the palate, making this brew taste more like a soft drink than a beer. Finishes crisp and dry. I did mention the word “dry”? Oh yes, it’s dry. Not really that tart either, more like a hint of lemon juice tartness, hardly qualifies as a “sour beer”. Hmmm, the more I taste it the more I dislike it - it’s really thin overall, it could have used more sweet/sour (and bitter even) to give it a bit more life. 6/10.

M: Lightish bodied, watery, with a light carbonation. All of which furthers the illusion that this is a soft drink not a beer (apart from the carbonation). 6/10.

D: Swing n’ miss for Temple! That said I applaud their use of a fruit I’ve never heard of before - I like it when brewers add interesting new adjuncts. In this case though the execution was lacking, it was missing some key beer elements like: sweet/sour balance, flavour complexity, mouthfeel, and some sort of indicator that it did in fact contain alcohol - I’m not a big stickler for this last one but God we’re making beers too easy to drink now, it’s all getting to be like lolly water. 5/10.

Food match: Made for a sashimi platter with ponzu sauce.