Raspberry Crunchee
Other Half Brewing - Center Street

 

Pours like past gone strawberry puree, that is to say it looks terrible. Smells like red crunchberries. Soem vanilla and raspberry. It's raspberry forward with hints of vanilla and granola. Honestly, not as bad as I would have thought based off description and look. But not something I would choose to get.

Canned 5/5/23

I stopped by Other Half the other day before a show in Brooklyn since it was right down the street. I had this one on tap while I was there and liked it enough to take a 4 pack home. Let’s get right into it

Pours an opaque deep maroon with 2 fingers of reddish pink head that slowly fades to a thin cap and leaves decent lacing

The raspberry is absolutely huge in the nose, but those sweeter adjuncts are still quite present. I’m picking up on aromas of tart raspberry, lemon juice, cinnamon, sweet vanilla, granola, graham cracker, light almond, and toasted coconut

In taste it is simultaneously more tart and more balanced. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting lemon juice, toasted coconut, tart raspberry, graham cracker, toasted almond, light honey, and maple syrup. The swallow brings notes of granola, tart raspberry, toasted coconut, earthy cinnamon, lemon zest, honey, and light almond

A medium body pairs with moderate carbonation, resulting in a slick beer. Finishes a mostly dry and tart for a refreshing beer

So many of these “smoothie sours” are overly sweet, but not this one. This definitely has a pastry feel, but with a great balance

 

This was the first of the crunchee beers from Other Half that I bought, as this was dated 4/12/19 on the bottom of the can. Sure, this was full of raspberry and granola but this wasn't too light, heavy, tart, or acidic in spite of all of it's underlying flavors. It took a bit of adjusting to get used to this but as it warmed up, it was apparent that this wasn't like any Berliner Weisse that I ever had before!

Quite a dark hue to this as this was raspberry in appearance but very turbid with lots of sediment floating in it throughout. Lots of loud, light, foamy head topped this off as it came and went like a retreating ocean wave as it had that sound to it as well. No lacing was left behind, which wasn't surprising given that this was a Berliner Weisse. Loads of deep raspberry as it was very and juicy without any tartness found in so many beers. Granola, vanilla cream, and milk sugar was in the nose as the taste was just as gritty, sweet, and juicy throughout. Very, very tough to pick out the coconut, almonds, and cinnamon as the maple gave depth and stickiness that took this beer from a novelty to something that truly savored and enjoyed.

Hard to find the alcohol in this as the flavors hid any booze that may have emerged on the palate as the carbonation was very light for a beer of this style. Lots of chewiness from the granola as the sweet and sour aspects balanced each other out with the end result being that the fruity slickness was that much more pronounced and enjoyable. I really liked this beer and how smoothly it went down, without the carbonation overpowering everything else. Props to Other Half for taking on this style and hitting it out of the park!

 

Pours a pinkish red with a thin head, which vanishes immediately after pouring.

Smells of artificial water melon chewing gum, extremely sweet raspberry jam and a light, pleasant roastiness from the coconuts.

Has a very mellow mouthfeel with a lighter body to it, with almost no carbonation at all.

Tastes of sugared raspberries, which reveal a pleasant lighter tartness, among nothing much else but an artificial tasting fruit sweetness. Turns a little more sour then, with no funk to it but a profound sugar backbone, numbing down any possible complexity in this. Finishes effervescent and refreshing, with a light nuttiness to it, apart from the sugared raspberries.

I was wondering how an imperial fruited berliner might taste like, and all the adjuncts in this don‘t help to surpass the notion of added syrup. This drinks simple and not very pleasant, it reminds me of a raspberry bonbon with a sour core.

Hazy glowing red with a few floaters and a thin bubbly pink ring.

Really fresh seedy raspberry pops unexpectedly here, as it features a little less sour-mediating granola cobbler than the Blueberry Crunchee.

The crisp firm carbonation runs through the medium body finishing semi-dry bringing a vanilla infused pie crust exhale.

 

 

 

wow this was phenomenal, beautiful looking pink colored brew. flavors or huge seedy underripe raspberry, raspberry sweet tarts, vanilla cream drizzled over cinnamon crumb cake, just an insane kiss of maple sweetness on the finish. such a weird and wonderful and complex balance of sweet and sour flavors. a real treat!

 

 

 

 

This one pours a very hazy pinkish red color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like raspberry syrup, maple sweetness, light tartness, almond, lemon, simple syrup, and a touch of coconut.

I don't necessarily get every flavor here - I'm not sure I actually get the cinnamon. However the raspberry and maple meld together to make this sweet and sour super-flavor that works extremely well here. The coconut is subtle, and the granola does add a touch of grainy sweetness. The almond is very subtle, too.

This is very thick for the style, but it has no booziness to it. It's really quite drinkable.

This is fairly absurd but also wonderfully tasty and drinkable.