Thorny Horn Sour
Phillips Brewing & Malting Co.

Thorny Horn SourThorny Horn Sour
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From:
Phillips Brewing & Malting Co.
 
British Columbia, Canada
Style:
Wild Ale
ABV:
6.8%
Score:
88
Avg:
3.93 | pDev: 7.12%
Ratings:
14 | reviews: 6
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Apr 07, 2018
Added:
Nov 03, 2015
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  2
Pouring a deep ruby red colour topped by a frothy bubblegum-pink head, a tangy berry nose leads to a rich, slightly sharp raspberry tartness through the body that finishes puckeringly dry. This sour brew is proof that sometimes the best notes fall outside of traditional scales!

This kettle soured ale is proof that sometimes the best notes fall outside traditional scales ,'Thorny Horn' is a raspberry brown ale augmented with lively lactobacillus; a jazzy jam session with sour overtone. Pucker up and play the sour notes
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 3.77 by therion72 from Canada (BC)

Apr 07, 2018
 
Rated: 4.24 by Ryften from Pennsylvania

Jun 19, 2017
 
Rated: 3.75 by Howlader from Canada (AB)

Jun 07, 2017
Photo of KeiferJennings
Reviewed by KeiferJennings from Canada (AB)

4.22/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
A surprisingly yummy beer! I picked one up while in Lethbridge, Alberta was pleasantly surprised. Wonderful, brown ale with a twist... it tastes like a drunk PB&J sandwich? Super weird but fantastic none the less. Very nice carbonation with a funky bottle. I was disappointed to hear that the brew was discontinued! A must try if you can still get your hands on it.
May 14, 2017
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Reviewed by StJamesGate from New York

4.09/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Amber-cherry with film. 3.75
Raspberry jellies with some earth.and yoghurt. 4
Cherry malts, big whack of berry, a balsamic thread, wood, walnut, and slight herbal leaf. 4.25
Cherry cough drop linger.
Crisp, round, almost medium. 4

Sweet nose! And while there is a ton of raspberry, it’s laid over the depth of a good brown: wood + toast with some vinous qualities. Easy but real. 4
May 12, 2017
 
Rated: 3.79 by smekermann from Canada (BC)

Apr 06, 2017
Photo of Sid_Smith
Reviewed by Sid_Smith from Canada (AB)

4/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
It tastes ridiculous. It smells amazing. I rate it lower on the taste because it is so crazy and far away from anything Iève ever had. It was a real surprise upon first sip. I can't shake the notion that it tastes like a sour version of pb&j. Even got my friend to try it with peanut butter. I actually STRONGLY suggest you pair it with a peanut butter and jam sandwich!!! I love Phillips and I know by now that when they go for a unique beer, it's flavor is over the top! The feel is pretty nice, actually really nice, perfect carbonation. On a side note I just tried their Orange cream soda with 1Oz bulldog gin and it was really really good. Overall: Awesome brewery, super weird, unique beer
Mar 12, 2017
Photo of LampertLand
Reviewed by LampertLand from Canada (BC)

3.9/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Phillips Brewing 'Thorny Horn' sour raspberry brown ale @ 6.8% , served from a 650 ml bottle purchased for $6
A-pour is a light brown from the bottle to a murky brown in the glass with a thin small beige head leaving a spotty lace along the snifter
S-brown ale with raspberries
T-tart at the start , true sour finish
MF-ok carbonation , feels full bodied
Ov-ok beer & sour
prost LampertLand
Dec 24, 2015
 
Rated: 3.8 by joemcgrath27 from Canada (AB)

Dec 23, 2015
 
Rated: 4.53 by likeablepaper from Canada (AB)

Nov 29, 2015
 
Rated: 4.1 by Tivlavrie from Canada (AB)

Nov 14, 2015
Photo of biboergosum
Reviewed by biboergosum from Canada (AB)

3.82/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
650ml bottle - and here I thought I was done with sour brews for at least a little while - oh well. Made with lactobacillus and raspberries.

This beer pours a clear, dark magenta amber colour, with three fingers of puffy, finely foamy, and somewhat creamy pale pink head, which leaves some tiered and streaky paint swath lace around the glass as it quickly abates.

It smells of fruity raspberry, semi-sweet, and kind of nutty caramel malt, a not quite expired-seeming milkiness, and an indistinct earthy bitterness. The taste is gritty raspberry cream pie - the tart fruitiness, the soured milk, and the near graham cracker crust (here represented by the grainy and doughy caramel malt) - with a further free agent lemon and yeasty sourness.

The carbonation is fairly spry in its workaday frothiness, the body a bit on the light side of a complete medium weight, and surprisingly smooth - the sourness leaning on the milky side of things for some reason right about here. It finishes well off-dry, the original raspberry pie analogue lingering, if only in a little more watered-down incarnation.

Well, let's just say that the past few local-ish lacto bacteria brewing experiments that I've tried didn't exactly pan out, or escape the ol' drain pour damnation dance. Not here, though, as Phillips may not have constructed the most complex iteration of the specific sub-style, but it's at least drinkable, and generally tasty, with a well-moderated fruity and lactic sourness quotient.
Nov 10, 2015
Photo of headlessparrot
Reviewed by headlessparrot from Canada (ON)

3.52/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
I was pretty disappointed with this one; I am not, in principle, opposed to kettle sours, but this has the taste of an experiment where something went a bit wrong somewhere along the way: like a raspberry-infused brown ale that wasn't quite right so a bit of lacto- was introduced to bring it up to standard. It's not bad, it's just there's a lot going on, but not much of it is in harmony: the brown ale (malty, caramel, coffee) notes, the raspberry (fairly syrupy), the milky sourness. But it can't decide whether it wants to be truly sweet or sour, and so is muddled in the middle.
Nov 07, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by Beervana from Canada (BC)

Nov 03, 2015