Fruitsicle - Strawberry Banana
Odd Side Ales

Thick straw colored with floaters suggesting fresh fruit is used. Thin half finger head with good retention. I get subtle banana aromas with sweetness from the strawberries added in. Reminds me of a wit with flat fruit smell. Nice sour beer taste with subtle strawberry and banana. I appreciate this is a beer first and fruitsicle second. Mouthfeel stirs up the tartness.
Not a bad fruit beer and better than most.

 

OMFG, I now CANterrupt this CANQuest horizontal of CANnecticut Valley Spiked Smoothies in the hopes & hops of getting something real! Their Strawberry Banana was a weak exCANple of what might have been. 8=p I now turn my sights to my buds in MichiCAN to see what their sCANce on the matter might be.

From the CAN: "A sessionable fruit ale with subtle hints of tartness and a smooth, creamy finish. Perfect for a day at the beach, some yard work, or simply hanging out with friends."

Once more, I was CANurious so I did some in-CAN agiCANtion before Crack!ing open the vent. I followed the Crack! with an inverted Glug into the awaiting glass since I wanted to ensure that any & all adjuncts were in suspension. This resulted in the formation of just under two fingers of fizzy, foamy, roiling bone-white head that quickly dissipated into wisps, leaving a modicum of lacing in its wake. Color was a deeply-hazy/lightly-cloudy Yellow-Gold (SRM = 4 - 5). Nose was MUCH MORE like it - a slightly tart banana-strawberry (inverse order). Yass. Mouthfeel was unexpectedly medium where so many in the style are downright watery. The taste was SO much more authentic, bringing a tangy, slightly tart strawberry flavor initially before giving 'way to a sweeter banana flavor. Was it truly adjuncts? I would love to believe so. Usually, I hate banana esters as they just make me think of Hefeweizens, but not in this case. Here, I was reminded of the real deal. I really dug the strawberry-banana interplay with its lightly-tangy tartness. Mmm. Finish was semi-dry (?), mainly thanks to its tartness, meaning that it would be tough to say "semi-sweet". Hmm. YMMV.

 

 

Pours a very cloudy golden color with a thick foamy head. Head retention and lacing are both very good. Has a tart fruit punch aroma. There is some tartness on the taste but less than I would expect based on aroma. Strawberry fruit punch with a hint of banana at the end. Light bodied with moderate carbonation.

 

 

The popularity of sour ale sees no end in sight. But the astute team at Odd Side take the irresistible taste of strawberry and banana and roll them into the mixed fermentation character of sour ale for a tantalizing tartness with exotic fruit flavor.

Drawing close comparisons to sherbet puch, Strawberry Banana Fruitsicle pours a hazy straw with a light and fluffy white crown. Fruity aromas of under ripened tropical fruit tease the nose with a light and tangy scent of fruit punch. Bright and breaming with simple pastry sweetness, a taste of angel food cake comes with honeysuckle and agave.

Sweetness stews briskly on the middle palate before fading into a creamy dry finish. Meanwhile its a fruity taste that brings a citrus character and a light pineapple tropical flavor before the additions of banana and strawberry bring their own succulent and tangy flavor along with suggestions of guava, sangria and papaya. A light chivy grassiness comes with a tart late palate of ripe red berry, cider and gooseberry.

Medium light on the palate, the finish comes with a creaminess of vanilla and bubbly soda for a finish of punch with the tartness of dry white wine and hint of burlap for a clean, crisp and crowd pleasing hot weather refresher course.

Smells like a refreshing fresca, fruit juice. Tastes fruity, yet creamy. Feels smooth, not too carbonated.

Overall pretty laid back drink, good, light refresher for hot days.

12 ounce can into tulip glass, canned on 7/10/2019. Pours very hazy/cloudy golden amber/light orange color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky off white head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Dense foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas and flavors of big juicy, lightly tart/tangy strawberry, banana, fruit skin/seed, lemon, lime, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, red/green apple, white grape/wine, hay, straw, grass, cream, wheat, white bread dough, light pepper/Brett/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Light fruity/lactic tartness, fruit tang, and yeast spiciness on the finish. Great malt/tart/tangy/spiciness balance; and no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering tang/tartness. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/silky/bready, and fairly acidic/tangy mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 4.5%. Overall this is an excellent fruited milkshake sour. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of strawberry, banana, fruity/spicy/acidic yeast, lactose, and bready malt flavors; very smooth and refreshing to drink with the mellowly acidic/tangy/drying finish; great soft feel and not overly lactic. Great balanced juicy fruits and Brett/lacto complexity; with a nice lactose and wheat/malt backbone. Light residual sweetness with lingering dryness. A very enjoyable offering, and well made style example as expected. Right on par with the rest of the series. No complaints.

 

 

A: hazy yellow in color with white head.

S: vague overripe banana aroma, with a hint of bread. It also smells like banana chips.

T: mildly tart with dehydrated Vandana and strawberry. The fruit flavor are definitely undertones, but perhaps that is a good thing.

M: medium light in body, carbonation seems a tad low. Semi dry finish.

O: overall, an interesting gimmick, but I don't love it.