Kim Hibiscus Sour Lager
SingleCut Beersmiths

A pretty beer, dark pink, clear, no real head.
Aroma of sweet fruit.
The taste expanded the aroma. Tart cherry, lemon.
Nice tart mouthfeel, to me just the right amount of tart,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bright ruby red is the color of the liquid in the clear pint glass. Freshly poured from a tap, there's plenty of carbonation, which contributes to producing a much lighter pink head. Richly dense and opaque, this is one good looking sour. Kudos for a good and tasteful use of black currants. There's no easy pleasure for the nose, but some tart fruit aroma is present. The taste and mouthfeel are excellent, with only a touch of sweetness to counterbalance the tart and sour. This may disappoint those seeking a mouth puckering tartness or a vinegary sourness, but there's more than enough of those characteristics to make this refreshing. Why drink flavored hard seltzers when brews like this are available?

Look: Pours an almost red, pink grapefruit juice color with a one finger pinkish white head of foam that fizzles away very quickly leaving no lacing.

Aroma: Slightly tart strawberry, bittersweet candied lemon peel and floral white pepper. Some plum and raisin. Has a shortcake like malty side to it.

Taste: There's a nice tart strawberry and apricot jam flavor going on upfront. Suggestions of spicy, slightly bitter lemon rind and fresh floral hibiscus. Ends on a light, fluffy, pleasantly malty sugar cake like flavor. Well balanced, neither too tart, sweet or floral. The overall flavor is excellent, but very light and short lived.

Feel: Very light and airy, not overtly bubbly though.

Overall: I very much enjoyed this but it didn't absolutely blow me away. This looks like quite a challenging beer to brew so bravo to stillwater. Everything tastes great - I just wish it had more "oompf". Overall the beer is soft and mild; and although it is very pleasant to drink the taste is short lived. It is incredibly thirst quenching and refreshing to it's credit.

 

Singlecut Beersmiths "Kim"
16 fl. oz. can coded "11:59:25 18-0345 08/03/20" and sampled on 12/31/20
$4.99 @ Total Wine & More, Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: This is brewed with hibiscus flowers and black currants so I'm expecting it to be pink in color but let's see... yep, pink without question. Pink-ruby body, pink head. The head held up pretty good for a sour beer but they all drop in the end. The aroma is clean, mineralish, and mildly fruity like red berries. On to the flavor, well, that's pretty much the same. It's what I'd call tart but not sour - it's not puckering, nor is it sweet, however, which leaves it very dry. I don't really get the black currant. There's a hint of it, if you know what black currant tastes like, but otherwise it's just berry-like. The floral character of the hibiscus comes through though, and that actually lends to the dryness of it in my opinion. It's light bodied and crisp. So what do we have here? A dry and refreshing, floral and berry-like beer with a somewhat limited alcohol content (4.2%ABV). It is what it's supposed to be but I was hoping for just a little more fruitiness. Oh well, what can you do?
Review #7,151

 

16oz can purchased from the fridge as a four-pack for $15.99. Canned on 4/23/2020, making this exactly 3 months old. Could definitely be fresher but I figured that this type of beer would be pretty stable and was very interested to try this and enjoy it during the summer months.

Look: Magenta pink and clear. Very effervescent coming out of the can. A pink rocky head diminishes quickly to nothing. Pretty color. The bottom of the can is a bit cloudy (probably some yeast sediment) and pours out to look kind of like a strawberry daiquiri or watermelon margarita.

Smell: Smells a bit fruity, a bit sour, slightly hoppy. Definitely get the hibiscus and black currant aromas. Not too much to the nose, very simple. Get some watermelon and cranberry notes on the nose as we go along. Nice.

Taste: This is what I was hoping for based on the description of "Kim Hibiscus Sour Lager". I really like sours, so I am sometimes disappointed when I beer is advertised as sour and then lacks that acidity. This is really refreshing and effervescent. Up front the beer is tart on the tip of the tongue, doesn't linger long with its high carbonation and light body, and the finish is mildly bitter and fruity. The hibiscus flavor is dominant, so if you don't like hibiscus then you might not enjoy this beer. Hard to identify the black currant flavor. Also getting cranberry notes. This beer is thirst-quenching. In my opinion, the best part about this beer is the rocking acidity, that is not so much sour as it is tart because there is some underlying sweetness in the beer with the malt bill and low bittering. It's an aggressive, punchy acidity that isn't shy and works very well here. Also encouraging that the sediment doesn't change the flavor too much.

Feel: Light and bubbly carbonation, yet substantive and flavorful. Very effective for this style.

Overall: Delivers as advertised. Very creative. Wonderful summer quencher. This is a nice alternative for someone who enjoys a shandy. I am normally not very excited by lagers, but I find this beer interesting.

I quite like this black currant lager it has a nice aesthetic pink hue yet just a quarter inch of foam that settles to nothing. Smell is very berry slight floral. Taste of sweet you can taste the blackcurrants Slade herbal mix not so much floral as expected semi sour. Body is light and flavorful not sure if I would get it again hibiscus really throws it off.

 

 

 

I bought this pint can at the Beer Temple. (Glad to see more NY micros braving the Illinois ABC.)
Refreshing and balanced (which is not easy for a BW as they tend to get too tart for me.)
A high pour makes Kim a pretty redhead in a red dress. Smells are more subtle, but a nice blend of fruits. Tastes are tart; but blend the fruity aromatics with a nice wheat malt; yet the lager's cleanness stays throughout... a nice touch that I'm guessing restrains the sour. Finishes dry and satisfying.

Starting SingleCut in 2012 and dedicated to hoppy beers, these Beersmiths show their versatility and craft in this sour lager. I've always wondered why a city of two million (Queens) exports so little beer to the Midwest. Now, they have no excuse. Send us your best.

9/25/19 Had second can and Kim actually goes well with Indian food. Calms the palate.

 

Tasted in a Rastal Teku from a one pint can on September 2, 2019. Sour mashed wheat malt that is lagered for an extended period with a house yeast strain. Brewed with whole hibiscus flowers and a touch of black current. Has a vibrant rose hue. Pleasant aroma with notes of dark fruit, floral tannin, bright lemon and a touch of sweet wheat.

From a 16 oz. can into a Willi Becher style glass, this beer pours out like a kids berry juice. Red with pink hues. It forms a finger worth of sea foam pink crown that dissipated rather quickly.

The nose carries light notes of black currents with a lingering hibiscus throughout. It does have a lager like backbone with some wheat and honey showing.

The taste brings in a nice touch of hibiscus; dry floral petals. Really keeps a beautiful lager presence throughout, which kind of surprises me. Cracker like wheat mixing with honey. Black current offers notes of berries the whole way.

Balanced tartness, dry with floral notes, medium-high airy carbonation, refreshing.

Overall, for what it is, they really pulled this off. I was definitely skeptical and wondered what would show through, the sour or the lager. But instead they took the two and tangled them throughout with balance.

 

16 ounce can into tulip glass, canned on 7/23/2019. Pours fairly hazy/cloudy reddish/pinkish orange/amber color with a 1-2 finger fairly foamy and fluffy light pink head with good retention, that reduces to a thin spotty lace cap that lingers. Nice spotty foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big sour/tart/tangy hibiscus, cranberry, strawberry, black currant, fruit skin/seed, lemon, lime, orange, peach, plum, pear, apricot, red/green apple, red grape/wine, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, white bread dough, light peppercorn/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of hibiscus, black currants, fruity/acidic yeast, and pale/wheat malt notes; with big strength. Taste of big sour/tart/tangy hibiscus, cranberry, strawberry, black currant, fruit skin/seed, lemon, lime, orange, peach, plum, pear, apricot, red/green apple, red grape/wine, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, white bread dough, light peppercorn/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tartness, fruit/hibiscus tang, and light spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart/tangy hibiscus, cranberry, strawberry, black currant, fruit skin/seed, lemon, lime, orange, peach, plum, pear, apricot, red/green apple, red grape/wine, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, white bread dough, light peppercorn/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of hibiscus, black currants, fruity/acidic yeast, and pale/wheat malt flavors; with a fantastic malt/tartness and tangy fruit balance; with zero puckering/astringent flavors after the finish. Fairly crisp/clean finishing. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering tartness and tangy fruit. Medium-plus carbonation and light-medium body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/grainy, and acidic/tangy/tannic balanced mouthfeel that is fantastic. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 4.2%. Overall this is an excellent fruited Berliner weisse. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of hibiscus, black currants, fruity/acidic yeast, and pale/wheat malt flavors; very smooth, refreshing, and fairly crisp/clean to drink with the mellowly acidic/tangy/drying finish. Nicely soft and not overly lactic for the style. Awesome balanced juicy/jammy currants/hibiscus, and Lacto complexity; with a great pale/wheat malt backbone against acidity for the ABV. Mild residual sweetness with crisp acidic/tangy dryness. A very enjoyable offering, and impressively spot on style example.

 

Canned 7/5/19; drank 7/24/19 @ the Yarchives.

Cloudy ruby-red appearance.

A violent pour yielded a big pink head; frothy lace.

Tart raspberry, passionfruit & honeyed wheat notes in the nose.

Medium mouthfeel.

Tart raspberry & honeyed wheat flavors up front; an abrasive metallic finish.

This was OK overall, but finished as if I was licking the can (the beer was poured into a glass for the record). Not ideal...

 

A: red/purple color with a hint of light brown. Small white head

S: lemons, hibiscus, cherries, grass, lemongrass, pepper, and caramel

T: lemongrass, tart vinegar, and hibiscus. Tart lemons and a hint of pepper

M: light moutfeel with medium carbonation

O: average example of style. Not too sour, with a nice floral note

 

 

 

 

 

L - massive dense pink head atop a near-trasparent maroon body.

S - tart berry, melon, citrus.

T - follows the nose. Tart berries, floral, melon, with a faint impression of citrus. Metallic finish. Low bitterness. Low sweetness. No booziness.

F - medium-light body with higher than normal carb.

O - refreshing, but the metallic finish drags it down a notch.

Welcome to the start of my Happy CAN A New Singlecut Be All The Beer That It Takes To Make Me Happy On A Sunday (Week 724)?!? It is to be a CANcerted effort to drink, review and rate some beers in the furtherance of The CANQuest (tm) while also taking part in NBS. As always, thoughts & opinions expressed are not necessarily my own. Stamp help out!

From the CAN: "Rulpsen says: 'Come visit our brewery!"; "Brewed with Hibiscus and Black Currants"; "SingleCut Beersmiths is proud to maintain the American tradition of beer locally made from craft by zealots/lunatics who believe hard work, truth, pride and passion should always come before profit."

It was identified as "unfiltered" so I did some in-CAN agitation before CANducting the Crack! I was pleasantly surprised when it briefly formed just over a finger of fizzy, foamy, rocky, pinkish head with low retention. Color was a slightly-hazy light-pink (SRM = N/A). Nose smelled very much of hibiscus & I wish that I could tell you that I like it as an adjunct, but no such luck. Mouthfeel was rather thin & watery. The taste was more tart than sour, but the acidity actually worked to hold the floweriness of the hibiscus in check. No syrup would be needed in/with this one & either/both might act as a detriment. It was light in terms of hibiscus, but high in pucker factor. Finish was quite dry. This would be a great, refreshing beer on a hot, humid Summer's day.