Watermelon Sour Patch
Shades Brewing

actually made with sour patch kids candy and watermelon? super weird, cool, and another really fun beer from these guys. a lot of them look better on tap than from the can, less sediment in most of the pours, and thats the case here, not at all packed with sludge like so many of their cans always are, and a nice head on it too, look better than almost any other one ive had from shades. the watermelon is natural and obvious in the mouthwatering puckery nose, rind and ripe juiciness and even the woody seeds, its awesome, sweet from the candy part yeah, but its not cheap to me. i get a lot of sourness, more from the lactic element than from the candy part, but there is some white sugar to this, some light wheat malt in the base keeping it beery, and its the watermelon i taste in front of everything else. its summery, juicy, and honest, and its not too sour to drink, although for a second its drying and sharp. almost has a salted vibe too, simple but unique at the same time. not usually a fan of candy beer, never have been, but this is really good, the watermelon being real helps a lot. nice carbonation too, this seems like better sour beer overall than a lot of them have been, more refined, nice. shades is on fire right now!

edit: this seemed more sour a year later, also on tap, not sure if they made it again or if its an aged keg, but it stays on my palate for a long long time after the swallow and really is more acidic than i remember, long candy back end, just keeps going, sharp lemon, not unpleasant, but more intense than it was...