Pinky Brewster
Refined Fool Brewing Co.

 

Too bitter for me. They say eat with pizza but I would rather eat with vicodin so I don’t taste the bitter. And slightly raspberry in a nice proportion. But I wouldn’t buy again even though I like fruity summer beers.

Rusty rose colour, no head, no lace. Raspberry and wheat on the nose, quite appetizing. Bitter up front followed by raspberry fruit, North American style wheat in character. Slightly dry. Drinkable.

Appearance: A salmon colored beer which I supposed lives up to it's name, although a bit of amber does come out when out up to the light. It showcases ample, steady carbonation that retains quite well and produces good lacing.

Smell: Raspberry is the dominant scent, as it should be for a raspberry beer but a backdrop of wheat malt and maybe the barest hint of banana is present. Ample potency that did not need warming to come out.

Taste: Starts with a delightful dancing of raspberry and biscuit malt that then it turns to this awful mud tasting end. As the beer warms up a bit of banana reveals itself at the start, and that bitter mud seems to tone down, but it's a Jekyll and Hyde experience.

Mouthfeel: The carbonation is well done, the transitioning is a right angle turn from delightfully sweet and fruit to a dead end mud wall that lingers in the aftertaste. Also getting a bit of a hard water vibe now too.

Drinkability: Lighter end of medium body, and settles down well but it's hard to drink when you know that bitter turn is coming. It is thirst quenching, but morish, it is not.

Final Thoughts: I highly suspect there is a hop variety that when my tongue encounters it, I ge t mud. I had it during my more recent review of Haliburton Height's Honey Brown, but it hasn't really shown up for a long time. Regrettably, it seems to have shown up here. I feel bad, since this beer showed so much initial promise.

Pours gold with just a hint of pink. Just a hint. The smell is sour raspberry. The taste is slightly bitter raspberry with a wheat beer background. Not as fruity as some fruit-wheat beers.
May 21 2021

Review from notes. Fortinos purchase for about $3.50 CDN. Served cold into a pint glass. This version listed at 5.5%.

Appearance - Ruddy salmon coloured beer, nearly two fingers of white-ish head and pretty solid staying power.

Smell - Raspberries all over although quite sweet and some wheat backing things up.

Taste - Raspberries again up front sort of falling into line with some light creamy graininess. A bit more bitter than expected given the flavor profiles.

Mouthfeel - Medium-light bodied with some creaminess, the feel is quite good. Carbonation is expressive but certainly not gassy. Could knock a couple of these back quick.

Overall - A pretty good reaspberry wheat, highlighting the fruit, but also being a half decent wheat beer at the same time. Not something I'd normally drink, although for long summer days, you could do much worse than some Pinky Brewster's.

Pours copper with reddish tinge - head dissipates quickly. Aroma: - raspberry jam. This carries over into the flavour which has a slight metallic edge.

 

 

 

Growler picked up fresh from the brewery, served well-chilled. Apparently these wheat ales have registered well with consumers, because this is the third one to be released by this brewery in a few months. This particular offering is infused with raspberries.

This beer pours an opaque pink colour - watermelon freezie is the best description I can come up with here. The head is thin and off-white, with big bubbles that soon fade. No cap or collar remains, and there is no lace. The aroma is not far off from their other wheat beers - raspberry is the standout, in addition to some wheaty malts, cherry pit and a slight earthiness in the background.

Interesting flavour - while many raspberry beers opt to slap you in the face with extracts, this one tastes just a little more authentic. The wheaty malt sweetness takes a back seat to the fruity notes of red berries - raspberry is obviously the first thought, but strawberry and mulberry also come to mind. After a hint of apricot, the finish brings to mind the flavour of raspberry seeds - somewhat bitter, mildly tart - although it does not linger on the palate terribly long. The mouthfeel is similar to their other pale wheat ales... light-medium, with low carbonation and a silky-smooth mouthfeel with just a slight bit of chew. Very drinkable, and quite refreshing.

[Updated Feb 15 2016]

Another batch of this was just released, so I figured I'd update the review. The visual appearance is improved; it produces a decent-sized, albeit short-lived layer of foam upon pouring. The nose and flavour profile are about on par with what I recall the 2014 version being like - wheaty malt sweetness, light berry juiciness and some slightly assertive raspberry seed bitterness. It is obvious that they used whole raspberries when brewing this beer, and not a flavouring extract. All in all, Pinky Brewster is a tasty little raspberry beer, though not something I'd go out of my way for.

Final Grade: 3.56, a B grade.