Slushy XL - Sour Diesel
450 North Brewing Company

Bottle share 04/24/26 berries, tart, sweet

Testing out the flavor of diesel, I always assumed the stuff was spicy but maybe its supposed to be sour. Regardless- kids, do not try this at home.

Less like diesel and more like crude oil, 450 North's Sour Diesel plops into the glass with a heavy, dark purple layering in the glass. As its neon purple froth pulls from the beer, its the tantalizing scent of dark berry, red wine, cider, citrus and cream swirl on the nose, its richly sweet taste brings an even coat of cereal, cream, candy and fruit rollup. The middle palate shows a tart taste of lime, lemon, gooseberry and green apple that ride underneath fruit additions of black currant, blackberry, boysenberry and plum. Juicy, sorbet-like and finishing with a sweet and sour interplay, the session concludes with alcoholic smoothie sensations for sure.

Full bodied and pleasantly chewy, the beer foregoes refreshment for flavor in a very non-beer-like beer.

 

 

 

The can says "STORE COLD, DRINK FRESH" but there doesn't appear to be a date on the can or the sticker label.

Appearance: The body is a deep beet red and purple. It is completely opaque. There is a very short light purple head that doesn't fill the whole top of the beer and it quickly fades out to nothing. No retention or lacing. When pouring the second half of the can it generated a lot of foam, but also put a lot of fruit sediment in the glass which sticks to the side.

Aroma: There is a light grape aroma with a bit of what smells like prune. There is also a bit of blueberry. The aromas are light overall but are nice. It is mostly dominated by this prune scent.

Taste: Up front there is prune and a kind-of blackberry flavor. There is this earthy quality to the beer giving it a slight moss character towards the middle of the mouth. It is somewhat woody like an apple core. The back of the mouth has a slightly bitter prune flavor. The aftertaste is pear. The flavors are interesting but they don't seem to really merge well together.

Mouthfeel: It is full bodied with a light bitterness and just a light tartness. While drinking the first half of the beer it is smooth and easy on the palate, but towards the bottom of the can the pour becomes very chunky and gritty on the palate. There is a light astringency that only appears in the last half of the can.

Overall: The can states that this is a "SMOOTHIE-STYLE SOUR ALE WITH BLACKBERRY, BOYSENBERRY, BLACK CURRANT & PLUM." The plum definitely comes through but more in the character of a prune rather than a fresh plum. The berries come through as well. Black currant doesn't seem to come through on its own but it likely contributes to the other fruity elements. As a whole the beer drinks very differently during the first half and the last half of the can. The first half is very smooth drinking without any sediment. The second half introduces more head but also a lot of sediment and some astringency. The fruit character is nice but it isn't a beer I would likely pick up regularly. If I did buy it again it would be a one and done beer. It's worth trying if you enjoy prunes because it is predominantly that flavor.

 

This was the first beer that I've ever reviewed from 450 North as I obtained it from a friend at Other Half last year. Loved the other Slushy's that I had from them and this was just as fun, enjoyable, and easy to drink as those were. Thankfully, the can held up well over time as I know that these can burst relatively easily!

Of course, this had a dark and lovely berry hue to it as just a hint of light seeped in around the extreme edges. The head was the same, raspberry puree color as it was thin and quietly settled and the lacing was also the same color as it looked to be very pulpy and frothy. Never saw rings like that and it was scattered down *all* of my pint glass as I worked my way through this. Lots of dark berry, raspberry tartness, and thick juice in the nose as the taste was just as inviting. Not much currant as there was a bit more vanilla in this than I anticipated with this being one of the sweetest Berliner Weisse beers that I've ever had.

Nearly impossible to pick out the alcohol in this and this wasn't sweet like a slushie from 7-11 as this was more of a fruit bomb than anything else. No sediment was at the bottom as I finished this off with the tartness and stickiness of the juice lingering on the palate afterwards. No canning date on this but given how well it held up, I hope to get my hands on some more in the near future. This wasn't quite like anything I've reviewed on here!