Strawberry Vanilla Shakerato
Stillwater Artisanal Ales

It's not immediately clear that this is a nitro until you pour it. Brunt strawberry in color, not the most pleasant shade. The beer is of course smooth, with plentiful tart strawberry notes. It is fairly sweet and does have some light cane sugar notes, and there's definitely lactose. The coffee comes in and out here and is more present in the aroma then the taste, which is ultimately more on the tart sour side than and coffee vanilla lactose side.
It was brewed on August 2020 and consumed on 6/11/22. I'm not sure if flavors faded or what but this isn't anything too crazy and sounds a little more appetizing than it turned out. I do know the beer was refrigerated for quite some time both in store and in my fridge, but either way it's decent. Just not as strawberry as a Fruli, or as vanilla coffee as some sort of stout. It's kinda both hit and miss.

 

Presentation: 16 oz. can with a batch number on the bottom but no dates. Served in a Rastal Harmony tumbler.

Appearance: The frothy, one finger head stays around until the end and it leaves behind a lot of lacing all over the glass. It's a murky, dark, brownish amber color. 

Smell: There's fresh strawberry, sweet vanilla and a touch of coffee in the background. 

Taste: Its tart, with a strong strawberry and lemony flavor. There's a touch of vanilla in the aftertaste and a sugary sweetness to finish things off. 

Mouthfeel: It's smooth and creamy with a light body. It does get cloying after a while. 

Overall: It's a very pleasant beer with a good combination of aromas. However, they don't show up on the palate in the same way. It might be due to age or that's just the way the beer is. Regardless, it has potential and the choice to go with nitro was nice but it could use some work.

Drain-pour!

 

 

another one of these stillwater and oliver nitro cans that i forgot to shake up before pouring, but i wonder how much better the mouthfeel would really be if i did it right? these have felt still and kind of thin to me with the sourness, i dont know, ill try to remember next time. i love stillwater, but this just seems like too many things, the coffee and the fruit are fine i guess, but the vanilla and the lactose make this way too desserty, let alone the cane sugar, my god. its sits weird on my teeth and tongue, and hangs around problematically long. despite that, it does taste good, just real diabetic, and the little bit of roast and coffee bitterness arent enough to make this seem balanced at all. the strawberries are jammy but strong, the lactose and cane sugar are totally unnecessary, and although a few sips are fine, this is novelty beer at best, and the fermentation profile is unexciting, even disappointing. it seems copycat to me too, trend following rather than setting, like do the people at stillwater and olive like to drink this themselves? fun in the context of a share of weird beers so each person only has a little, but a whole can to myself was a regrettable choice. i guess i like the bold coffee best in here, but its weird that its sour and sweet at the same time too, and without the proper nitro texture, this was a chore to drink the last half of. different, not very beery, but it does taste good, even if i dont really want to drink it.

 

There's a lot going on here. The fruit forward (strawberry) is overpowered by the coffee afternotes. Bouquet is pure fruit. Nitro milkiness brings things together somewhat.

 

Welcome (back, sort of) to the absolute CANclusion of New Oliver Beer Sunday (Week 773), which I beCAN on NBS Week 771 & did not have a ChANce to finish. Not only does this further The CANQuest (tm), but it also helps to clear a logjam from my reefer. There really is a modicum of reasoning to this ongoing madness. At long last, we are CANming into the meat & potatoes of this brewery horizontal!

From the CAN: "Sour Ale with Strawberries, Vanilla, Coffee, Cane & Milk Sugar"; "Stillwater Artisanal / Oliver Brewing Company / Ceremony Coffee Roasters"; "Pouring Instructions: 1 - Gently Shake Can to Activate Nitrogen 2 - Open, Turn Over and Pour Hard".

I did everything as directed & I (think) that the N2 charge failed to activate. 8=( Even my hard pour (inverted Glug) following the Crack! failed to get a cascade going. It did from a dense cap of a finger of tawny/light-tan foam with excellent retention, however. Color was a turbid, murky Amber to Deep-Amber/Light-Copper (SRM = > 9, < 13). Nose was quite sweet, a curious admixture of strawberry & vanilla, but not anything approaching "sour". Hmm. Mouthfeel was thin & watery, but also big & creamy, thanks to the shot of N2. The taste was yet CANother oddball with the strawberry & vanilla having just a slight tartness. Hmm. Finish was semi-dry. Color me deeply unimpressed. YMMV.

 

A: The beer is rather hazy yellowish brown in color. It poured with a half finger high white head that left a large patch of bubbles on the surface and a wide collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Light aromas of strawberries and vanilla are present in the nose.
T: The taste follows the smell and is a tad sour with flavors of strawberries, cream, and vanilla.
M: It feels nearly medium-bodied and somewhat smooth on the palate with a low amount of carbonation.
O: The murky appearance of this beer can seem deceiving, but the taste definitely resembles a strawberry vanilla shake with a bit of added sourness.

Serving type: can

L: Light to dark reddish brown orange.
S: Chocolate and strawberry.
T: An odd back and forth between strawberry and coffee/cream.
F: Strawberry and coffee.
O: Strawberry and coffee together do not make a good beer.

16 ounce can into tulip glass, best before 8/20/2020. Pours very hazy deep reddish/orange/amber color with a small dense light pink head with solid retention, that reduces to a minimal spotty lace cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings on the glass, with a light amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big juicy/tart/tangy strawberries, fruit skin/seed, lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, pear, melon, apricot, red/green apple, white grape/wine, hay, straw, grass, vanilla, cream, nutty medium roast coffee, brown sugar, wheat, and white bread; with lighter notes of pepper, lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of strawberries, fruity/acidic yeast, coffee, vanilla, sugars, and pale/wheat malt notes; with big strength. Taste of big juicy/tart/tangy strawberries, fruit skin/seed, lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, pear, melon, apricot, red/green apple, white grape/wine, hay, straw, grass, vanilla, cream, nutty medium roast coffee, brown sugar, wheat, and white bread; with lighter notes of pepper, lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Mild fruity/lactic tartness, fruit tang, and yeast spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart/tangy strawberries, fruit skin/seed, lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, pear, melon, apricot, red/green apple, white grape/wine, hay, straw, grass, vanilla, cream, nutty medium roast coffee, brown sugar, wheat, white bread, light pepper/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of strawberries, fruity/acidic yeast, coffee, vanilla, sugars, and pale/wheat malt flavors; with an awesome malt/sugar/tartness and tangy fruit balance; with no cloying/puckering flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering tang/tartness. Light carbonation and medium-plus body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/grainy, and fairly acidic/tangy/tannic mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 5%. Overall this is an awesome fruited milkshake sour. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of strawberries, fruity/acidic yeast, coffee, vanilla, sugars, and pale/wheat malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the mellowly acidic/tangy/tannic/drying finish. Awesome soft/silky feel, and mellowly lactic. Awesome balance of juicy/jammy strawberries, Lacto complexity, and fruity/nutty coffee; with a nice sized vanilla, lactose, sugar, and pale/wheat malt backbone against acidity. Light residual sweetness with lingering acidic/tangy dryness. A really enjoyable offering, and impressive style example as expected of the breweries.