Chocolate Cherry Crunchee
Other Half Brewing - Center Street

Was really excited to have this beer even though it had been a while since I bought it. All of the other Crunchee offerings were good but this once took the cake to me as it had to be the most unusual Berliner Weisse that I've ever had. It wasn't overly sweet or tarty and it reminded me of a dessert that I'd have at a fancy gathering, while being in liquid form!

Lovely, dark cherry hue to this beer as I poured it out and watched how smooth and silky it was. A light, raspberry head topped it off as the thin foam quickly settled. Very, very little lacing remained as the few soapy splotches quickly slid down the side of my pint glass. Loads of deep, milk chocolate, dark cherry juice, and granola were in the nose as the taste was just as sweet and decadent. A ton of chewy body, maple syrup stickiness and cacao was in this as it was hard to pick out the toasted coconut or cinnamon spice above those. Quite thick in consistency, this was like a cherry cobbler in liquid form without any overt booze, hops, or carbonation to interfere.

That's not to say that there wasn't any alcohol in this, as there was, but this was just fun and well-crafted while pushing the edge of what beer was capable of being. Canned on 6/26/19 with nothing written above or below it, this was much a dessert beer as anything else without any sour notes or lactic acid present. Even with a bit of thick, dark sediment at the bottom of the liquid, this might have been the best of it's kind that I ever had as Other Half did a really nice job with this one!

This one pours a thick looking dark purplish/reddish color, with a small head, and a little bit of lacing.

This smells pretty absurd - pastrytown to the max here - with sweet candied cherry, chocolate chips, granola, maple, lemon candy, molasses, and a tiny smudge of coconut.

You really do go get everything listed on the ingredients list, and they come in different waves. It's all cherry and a bit of spice up front, kind of syrupy tasting, with the maple and coconut in the middle, then a surprisingly delicious blast of chocolate granola at the very end. Chocolate basically never works in sours for me, but this manages to work well. If we're being honest, that's because this isn't very sour at all. It also doesn't taste like a sour beer - it just tastes like liquid dessert.

This is somewhat syrupy, but very drinkable, and smooth on the back end. There's no sign of booziness.

I think Raspberry Crunchee was a little bit better, but this is still a really wonderful "beer."

 

L - massive pepto-pink head atop a very dark, near-opaque purple body.

S - milk chocolate, cherry pie, vanilla, oats.

T - follows the nose. Cherry pie topped with a granola parfait and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Not a whole lot of chocolate in the taste, but it’s there. No bitterness. Moderate-low sweetness. No booziness.

F - medium body and carb.

O - the other crunchees are better, but this is still very good.