Yesterday's Headlines - Kiwi
Braxton Brewing Company - Braxton Covington

 

Poured at 45°F from a liter bottle (bottled 23Mar16) into a Spiegelau wheat glass. Consumed on 03Jul16.
SMELL: Big aromatic waves of sweet kiwi are supported by mild aromas of wheat, pineapple, strawberry cookies, and vanilla. Subtle earthy yeast, lemon zest, and sour green apple provide an additional pinch of complexity.
TASTE: An instant balance is presented as mild flavors of kiwi and wheat step on to the palate. A sweet and sour characteristic immediately follows as mild flavors of strawberry cookies, sour green apple, and subtle lemon zest enter while the kiwi flavors transform to bittersweet. The taste theatrical ends in a bang with mild flavors of vanilla and sweet red apple and subtle flavors of earthy yeast and pineapple as all previous flavors maintain, except for sour green apple, which grow slightly stronger.
NOTE: I love how some breweries are now adding fruit twists to this classic, German soured ale. These guys managed this very well. Although it smelled much sweeter and stronger than what it tasted, this was a nice and complex flavor bomb. My favorite aspect was actually the strawberry cookie flavors that I perceived. Too bad this was a limited brew. I look forward to trying more beers from this brewery.

 

 

Though open only a year, the forward thinking brewers at Braxton certainly aren't looking back. Instead, their anniversary ale revives the historic and once defunct Berliner Weisse style, but doing so with an imaginative fruit twist. The layering of kiwi on the sour ale base shows that this old style isn't just yesterday's headlines.

the Kiwi Berliner Weisse is exactly the bright, slightly hazed and assertively bubbly bitter that's quoined the ale the "champagne of the North" by Napoleon's troops. Its zesty white froth hosts the tart bouquet of lemon, lime and crabapple that makes the style famous, but also has that alluring mystique that only kiwi can provide.

Light wheat sweetness greet the palate with a flash of dough and wafer crackers before evaporating. Charging in is the bold fruit flavors from bacteria fermentation and the fruit additions. Not stopping with sour citrus, the kiwi character also carries the whimsy of strawberry and honeydew for added refreshment. A follow of light funk brings the aftertaste of damp burlap, hay and chardonnay cork.

Light, faintly creamy and explosive off the palate like pop-rocks, the confectioner's sourness is suggestive of warheads candy before the sourness and earthen funk trail into finish. A kiss of wheat returns with that fresh-baked bread character to balance the fruit sourness in a fast-fleeting aftertaste.