The Bayside Mall Diaries
Refined Fool Brewing Co.

Bomber purchased at the brewery shop; no packaging date and served slightly chilled.

Pours a foggy, translucent pinkish-orange colour, topped with nearly a finger of smooth, pale pink-tinged foam that fades within a couple of minutes' time. A tight, creamy collar and some filmy wisps on the surface are the only leftovers; looks the part of a cherry sour. It smells of wheaty malts and doughy sweetness, with notes of black cherry and understated hints of canned pineapple - it's fine, but nothing really pops for me.

As far as fruit beers go, this one's alright with me - not very sour though, which at least allows the fruit duo to strut its stuff. The black cherry leads off, with plenty of wheaty, doughy pale malt also coming through; hints of honeyed sweetness too, with the pineapple providing a juicy note that is most noticeable between the middle and tail end of the sip. Light hints of lactic acidity, pineapple, cherry juice & skin carry into the aftertaste. Light-medium in body, with average carbonation that gives a little bit of prickliness to this brew's smooth, juicy texture. It's got great drinkability, and its flavours should appeal to those who enjoy fruit beer, even if they don't really care for 'sours'.

Final Grade: 3.75, a B+. The Bayside Mall Diaries was pretty darn good - I mean, for a sour it's not very sour, but the pineapple and cherry flavours are quite nice, making for a fairly approachable brew that shouldn't turn many folks off. Perhaps most importantly, it's got that weird clock arch thing on the label, easily the most recognizable landmark from the old Sarnia Eaton's Centre. All in all, it's an enjoyable tribute to what was once the largest of Sarnia's numerous empty eyesores, most of which have finally been demolished over the past couple of years. Yes, even the foundry!