Collective Project: Pineapple Tepache Berliner
Collective Arts Brewing

 

 

 

Appearance - Pours a clear gold with four fingers of frothy white head.

Smell - spicy earthy, floral, and leafy hops, spices (cinnamon), lime, lemon, sugar, bready malts, pineapple and other citrus fruits, and earthy yeast.

Taste - spicy earthy, floral, and leafy hops upfront. The lime, lemon, sugar,cinnamon and other spices, and hint of ginger come through next. The bready malts, pineapple, citrus fruits, and earthy yeast finish off the brew.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation. Finishes crisp and dry with the hops and spices, and the sugar lingering.

Overall - An interesting brew that is a sour beer for sure but not too cloying. I enjoyed the aromas and taste as it is a refreshing brew to have. Another odd-one nailed out of the park!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A: The beer is hazy pale yellow in color and has a moderate amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a quarter finger high bright white head that quickly settled down but consistently left a short head covering the surface and lots of lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: Light to moderate aromas of sour funk are present in the nose along with notes of pineapples and hints of cinnamon.
T: The taste follows the smell and is a little sour with flavors of pineapples and hints of cinnamon, the latter of which is only really noticeable towards the finish and after the beer warms up. The beer is sour enough so you don't get any of the sweetness from the pineapple or the demure sugar.
M: It feels a bit more than light-bodied and somewhat tart on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This sour had a touch of funkiness so I wouldn't say it was particularly refreshing, but it had an interesting blend of flavors in the text.

Serving type: can

Big whiff of pineapple on opening the can. Pours pale hazy brittle looking yellow under a moderate soapy white head. Minimal lacing, head settles to a ring. Medicinal pineapple nose, not quite up to that early invitation.

And pow! Super tart. More lemon than pineapple. Got some earthiness and yeast happening. Sharp edged and refreshing, would make a nice summer imbibe. Won't be to all tastes.

 

473 ml can served cold into a chalice. LCBO purchase for $3.95 CDN.

Appearance - bright yellow and gold coloured beer. A finger plus of quickly dissipating white head. No lacing but pretty hazy overall. Some chunky sediment spills out at the end.

Smell - pineapple, funky gym socks, some lemon.

Taste - pineapple, wheat, some salt and a general other citrus flavor there, most prominantly lemon. Tastes a bit better than it smells. Some tropical spices mixed in.

Mouthfeel - crisp, somewhat creamy with medium carbonation. Finishes dry and reasonably tart.

Overall - not my favourite Berliner, but I can see this appealing to many. Good beer if it doesn't really work for me.

 

 

 

Pours a pale gold with a slight haze and the fluffiest of white head. Head retention is good and leaves a prominent cap and collar in its wake, but not much lacing.

Smell is tart pineapple followed by spices dominated by cinnamon. Fruity and tart work well together making you think of a beach resort.

Taste is tart first, followed by a boost of acidic pineapple and finally spicy on the back end. Tastes tropical.

Feel is light with great carbonation. Finish is puckering and dry.

Well, I was hoping for a bit of pineapple in this one, and what I got was a pleasant surprise. That tepache is a nice blend with a Berliner.

473 mL can from the LCBO; dated Jan 2 2019 and served slightly chilled. I wasn't sure what 'tepache' was - I assumed it was some sort of obscure fruit - but Google tells me it's some sort of spiced Mexican drink (which explains the quartet of spices in the ingredients list).

Pours a turbid yellow colour, capped with nearly an inch of soapy, sparkling white froth that settles off over the next couple of minutes. A thin collar is the only remnant, other than some filmy patches on the surface and a sparse spattering of lace. Cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice are all prevalent on the nose, and I also managed to pick out the star anise after a few more sniffs. Other than that, I'm mostly getting gritty, grainy wheat sweetness, some funkiness and a light, lemony lacto-sour note; the pineapple itself is actually rather faint, IMO.

Oooh... I'm not usually big on spiced beer, but this right here is pretty tasty. Lactic acid and lemon juice sourness come through immediately and intensely, obscuring the pineapple somewhat, and largely masking the grainy wheat malt sweetness. The star anise - the one spice I was particularly concerned about - actually works very nicely here, imparting subtle hints of licorice that complement the touches of cinnamon and nutmeg that show up towards the back end of the sip. Finishes with more lemony lacto-sourness, as well as a lovely hint of pineapple juice sweetness that lasts into the aftertaste. Light-bodied, with aggressive, spritzy carbonation that prickles the palate continuously, remaining lively all the way to the bottom of the glass.

Final Grade: 3.99, a B+. Collective Arts has no fear of experimentation, and their Pineapple Tepache Berliner is the latest fortunate result of that ethos. The spices are used sparingly; no more than what's needed, which is parallel to my preferences with this type of beer. I still think their Lime & Ginger BW was better, but honestly I was very pleasantly surprised by this one - though as personal tastes dictate, your mileage may vary. I'll probably pick up a few more cans while it's in rotation.