Mellow Cherry Hibiscus
North Peak Brewing Company

 

 

How do I put this lightly...I didn't like it...

I had high hopes for this brew - with the word 'cherry' in the title I was instantly gravitated to it. What I discovered once I cracked it open was something of a let down. Though it looked good - reddish hues that were distinctive even if the head had a quick disappearing act, the smell was...strange - nothing cherry about it or anything that I could discern. Mouthfeel was light and the taste was just weird. This wasn't a bad beer, just not something I will be looking for in the future.

Mellow is correct, the tone of this beer is the hibiscus flavor that under tones it. This is such a good beer! That is rare to say because the fruit and field category does not have enough beer flavors, the sweetness is undertone and that is another gem from North Peak!

 

12oz bottle. Poured out a clear, reddish brown color with a small, tan head of foam. It smelled of cherry and maltiness. Sweet cherry flavor with a bready maltiness.

Cherry cough syrup mixed with a base beer and some Hibiscus leaves tossed in.

Not pleasant.

 

Tap

Pours clear dark amber, white lacing for a head.

Smells of biscuit, cherry, honey and cereal malts.

Tastes of cherry, biscuit and hibiscus. Slightly sweet woody finish. Somewhat medicinal bitter finish.

Medium to light body, fizzy carbonation on the tongue.

Okay fruit beer, falls victim to that cough syrup taste. It's okay, not great.

Absolutely terrible beer. Thought it was going to be a hit at my bar, customers can't even choke it down. Sending it back to the distributor along with the bottles we ordered. Very disappointing.

 

 

 

 

Pours a clear brown color. 1/4 inch head of an off-white color. Good retention and great lacing. Smells of caramel malt, slight sweet malt, cherry, hint of alcohol, and slight yeast. Fits the style of a Fruit / Vegetable Beer. Mouth feel is smooth and clean, with an average carbonation level and slight dryness. Tastes of caramel malt, slight sweet malt, cherry, hint of alcohol, hint of floral notes, slight citrus hops, and slight yeast. Overall, good body and blend with a decent appearance and aroma.

 

Meeeeeeeehhhhhh. I was hoping this one was going to be the ale that got me back to trying more North Peak. It's sweet, with toast /biscuit, cherry, lemon, cranberry, pomegranate, tea flavors but it's just meh. Probably gonna go back to not buying North Peak stuff.

 

Picked this up since I always love a good cherry ale. Pours a rather deep amber brown clear with a 1/2 inch of opaque colored head. Smells is gose like with some tart lemon, cherry and malty sweetness. Taste is more herbal with Hibiscus and hops taking most of the flavor with very little lemon sourness which I could also assume some cherry. Body is medium and drink ability is kind of so so. Overall I was excited to see another fruit cherry beer but they always seem to screw it up somehow with the base or adding unnecessary ingredients. Disappointing.

Pours deep amber. Thick, short, off white head lasts shortly and fades to a ring.

Smells light tart cherry, lemon, caramel and toasted malt.

Tastes light tart cherry, light funk, light herbal, caramel malt and touch of hibiscus. Finish is dry with a light spicey bitterness and a medicinal cherry linger. Medium body and fizzy medium carbonation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I picked up a bottle of North Peak's Mellow Cherry Hibiscus for $1.89 at The Lager Mill. It's been awhile since I've had a new beer from North Peak and I'm interested to see how it turns out, so lets see how it goes. 2016 Vintage. Poured from a brown stubby bottle into a teku.

A- The label ls ok, it's a little plain, but it has a nice clean design and it's not too eye catching. It poured a brown red color that took on more of an amber red color when held to the light with a fingers worth of lighter tan head that died down to a thin ring that eventually faded away and it left a little bit of patchy lacing behind. This is a pretty nice looking beer, but I wish it had a little better head retention.

S- The aroma starts off with a higher amount of medium sweetness with the cherries being the first to show up and it imparts a nice natural cherry juice aroma that goes into the hibiscus which imparts a pretty noticeable floral hibiscus like aromas. Up next comes the malts which impart some sweet malt aromas with some grainy and pale malts showing up in the background and towards the end there's a little more sweetness and cherries. This beer has a pretty nice aroma, all the aspects show up nicely and it lives up to it's name.

T- The taste seems to be similar to the aroma and it starts off with a medium amount of sweetness with the cherries still being the first to show up, it's a little lighter than it was in the aroma and not as sweet, but it still has that nice cherry juice aspect to it. Up next comes the hibiscus and it shows up just as much as it did in the aroma and it imparts some nice floral hibiscus flavors and it's followed by the malts which impart all the same aspects that they did in the aroma and they impart all the same aspects. On the finish there's a higher amount of low bitterness with a floral, fruity and slightly grainy aftertaste. This is a nice tasting beer and it lives up to it's name, but I think the flavors could've been balanced better.

M- Fairly smooth, a little creamy, a little crisp, a little dry on the finish, medium bodied with a medium amount of carbonation. The mouthfeel is nice, but I wish it was a little smoother.

Overall I thought this was a nice beer and pretty solid example of the style, it had pretty much all the aspects that I waas looking for in the style, but when it came to the balance and drinkability it got to be just a little rough around the edges. This beer had ok drinkability, I think one is enough for me, anymore than that and It would start to wear on me. What I like the most about this beer is the appearance and aroma, they are both pretty nice and some of the highlights of this beer. What I like the least about this beer is the balance and drinkability, they both could use a little work. I don't think I would buy this beer again, but I wouldn't turn own down and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a cherry and hibiscus beer. A;; in all I liked this beer, but I didn't love and I think with a little more work it could be a pretty good tasting beer. It's not a favorite North Peak beer and it's a little above average for the style. Solid job guys, keep it up.

 

 

I was expecting so much more. Seeimg cherry hibiscus i was expecting a sweet cherry with a zip of hibiscus, but to me the malt overpowered those flavors.

12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 9/9/2016. Pours slightly hazy deep reddish copper color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky off white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of tart cherry, berry, lemon, pomegranate, caramel, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, light pepper, and herbal/toasted earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of cherry, hibiscus, and moderate dark/bready malt notes; with solid strength. Taste of tart cherry, berry, lemon, pomegranate, caramel, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, light pepper, and herbal/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate herbal/spicy bitterness and tannic fruit tartness on the finish; with lingering notes of tart cherry, berry, lemon, pomegranate, caramel, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, pepper, herbal/toasted earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Nice complexity, robustness, and balance of cherry, hibiscus, and moderate dark/bready malt flavors; with a good malt/bitter/tartness balance; and a bit of lingering bitter/tannic astringency after the finish. Light-moderate dryness from tannic bitter/tartness, increasing through the glass. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; with a smooth, moderately creamy/grainy/sticky, and fairly acidic/tannic mouthfeel that is okay. Alcohol is fairly well hidden, with a small warmth lingering after the finish. Overall this is a good fruit beer. All around good complexity, robustness, and balance of cherry, hibiscus, and moderate dark/bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink. This would have been much better without the lingering bitter/tannic flavors, but was still nicely enjoyable.