Jelly King - Tangerine
Bellwoods Brewery

500 mL bottle from the LCBO; listed at 5.6% and served barely chilled.

Pours a hazy golden-orange colour, producing two fingers of bubbly, foamy white head that sizzles away within sixty seconds, leaving a barren surface behind. The aroma is quite citrusy - tangerine is the highlight of course, but I'm also getting lemon, lime, peach & mango. Mild to moderate lactic acid funkiness.

A nicely quaffable citrusy sour. The tangerine doesn't dominate, sharing space with lemony lactic acidity, stone fruit and a hint of mango. Finishes very tart/sour, with juicy tangerine and slight lactic funk dissipating into a fruity aftertaste. Medium-light in body, with firm, fine-bubbled carbonation that prickles the palate continuously throughout each sip, adding some crispness to this sour's smooth and pleasing mouthfeel.

Final Grade: 3.96, a B+. Unlike many Jelly King variants, Tangerine is less focused on the fruit ingredient, and more about how the tangerine interacts with the base sour. I mean, there's plenty of citrus aroma & flavour, but it blends together with the dry hops and lactic acidity such that nothing really stands out in particular. That's great if you want a sessionable sour, but the reason I try these fruited JKs is because I want intense fruit flavours on top of an excellent DHS. I'm not sure tangerine on its own is strong enough to really carry the beer - i.e. this isn't quite as good as the other JKs I've tried, but it's still an above average Ontario sour that is worth a look.

 

 

Maybe one of the worst beers I have had. This just tasted like a mimosa with extra orange juice. Almost completely uncarbonated, no beer flavour at all, slight bitterness from the hops (I think).

The way Bellwoods keeps releasing these fruit forward beers has got to stop. In no way can this be characterized as a beer; it is an orange drink for people who don't like beer. If anyone truly thinks this is a good beer, you need to give your head a shake. This is garbage, plain and simple, and certainly worth only a small fraction of what they are charging for it.

 

 

Tastes a lot like a San Pellegrino orange drink to me. This is definitely very fruited.

Look is almost like a mimosa, orange and bright.

Smell is tangerine up the ol' sniffer. Very prominent and inviting.

Taste is as said earlier, much like a San Pellegrino or a mimosa. Really easy to drink.

Feel is lightish with active carbonation. finish is fruity and lingers.

This is a perfect breakfast beer.

On tap at the source. Lots of flavour in this jelly king, though the tangerine still tastes like puree, not the real thing. Dialed back the sourness a touch on the base beer.