Kveik - Pistachio Ice Cream
Shades Brewing

part of their collaboration series, this one done with red rock. its a fun idea, but for me the execution isnt amazing, which is not to say this isnt good beer, just that it tastes a little like what it shoots for than a lot of the others have, these have been largely spot on. i love this not being a sour, better as a simple cream ale base, and its made with vanilla, pistachio, and lactose. i half expected it to be green like the ice cream, but it looks pretty normal in the glass, maybe a little thin for what its trying to be, pale orange and fizzy but not holding a lot of head, not even much sediment until the bottom of the can, they have definitely cleaned these up a lot, the recent two i have had have been the most refined two yet in my experience, much needed! this smells and tastes like vanilla, honey, and the milk sugar, its caramelized and desserty, but more baked than creamy to me, and the pistachio does something in here, but it doesnt taste like pistachio or pistachio ice cream to me. more of a grounded generic nuttiness, like the paper on the outside of a peanut, i dont know, but its not pistachio to me, or maybe its just faded somehow, or perhaps covered up by all the sugar this has through it. i was a little let down. overall though its still cool beer, drinks like a vanilla or honey cream ale, has nice carbonation, and a pretty clean ferment. more pistachio character would make this better, but its still super fun, a really clever series, they cant all be amazing. still worth a try, although this is one of my least favorite thus far...

edit: my wife discovered that if you turn the cans a bit before opening, that the flavor containing sediment is better integrated and the pours are more consistent. that might be most true with this one, where the pistachio was minimal for me the first time around in an undisturbed can, better this way. this is still super sweet and not nut driven, but its improved by this process. i feel like the green ice cream tastes a little fake too, so this is somewhat true to that, but i still long for a more genuine pistachio flavor out of this beer.