Cavalier Cherry Sour
Cavalier Beer

So Cavalier have jumped on the small batch bandwagon as well, and “why not?” I say - if you’re going to jump on any bandwagon, unless it’s a 70’s era word-for-word Led Zeppelin bandwagon then limited release beers is a pretty endorsable thing... [is that a word or did I just make that up?] Anyway this Cherry Sour is done in a style I’ve rarely come across but enjoy nonetheless - Berliner Weisse - with fresh cherries and lactobacillus added it is sure to be a winner. A good (or bad depending on how your day is going) hallmark of this style is a mid-strength ABV and at 3.5% Cherry Sour is a good palate cleanser before my next reviews, onward dear reader, MUSH!

Poured from a 330ml bottle into a Duvel tulip.

A: Presents like any good Kriek with a bold clear ruby body and an unmistakeable pink head which soon drops back to a lace ring. I’m impressed easily by Kriek beers so bravo to Cavalier. 9/10.

S: You really can tell they’ve used fresh cherries as soon as you take in a breath, with that straight up tartness of the lactobacillus giving it a yoghurty aroma. Aside from these prominent notes there is a hint of hard candy (cherry flavoured of course) and a light herbal bitterness lingering in the background. 8/10.

T: Thennnnn, replace all of the above with sour. The tartness of this brew isn’t mouth-puckering however it does completely overwhelm the other (above noted) flavours to the point where you would be hard pressed to pick out this was a cherry beer to begin with. Finish is vaguely herbal with sour cherry hints. Palate cleansing? Indeed, too much I think. 6/10.

M: Mid to light bodied with a medium carbonation - the body here is hefty for a 3.5%, something I am generally impressed with by other Berliner Weisses I’ve tried. 9/10.

D: Compared with the other Berliner Weisse I’ve reviewed (a brew I am sure Cavalier got their hands on before brewing their own version) Feral’s Watermelon Warhead is a much better example of what you would look for in the style - traditionally Berliner Weisse is served with a flavoured syrup to cut through the sourness, however we don’t have that luxury when drinking at home... in Australia... so ultimately we need to have the sourness balanced a bit better by the brewer and you could tell that Feral got this whereas Cavalier missed this salient point somewhat. In other words - Watermelon Warhead FTW. 6/10.

Food match: Cheese platter and this seems a decent enough match.