Superman Punch
Barreled Souls Brewing Company

 

 

 

Nucleated Tulip
Look: Hazy bright red color, pouring a 1mm cap which dissipated into light lacing
Smell: Smells exactly like fruit punch with a wheat note within
Taste: Slightly tart, and med sweetness. Weak fruit punch note mixed with doughy malt. Finish contains only doughy malt.
Feel: Gentle carbonation and moderate mouthfeel

 

 

 

A: hazy; bright red in color; 1 finger finely pored pale pink head that receded quickly to a wispy cap with a thin collar; no lacing;

S: fruit punch;

T: fruit punch from start to finish with a very light hint of salt at the end that increased through the aftertaste;

M: light to medium bodied; moderate carbonation; moderately dry finish;

O: very enjoyable;

 

 

 

 

 

Pint can - no date - poured into a long stem tulip at 44F.

Pours a brilliant frosty hazed scarlet colour, topped with three fingers of soft pink foam. As the foam recedes, it becomes mottled with both white and pink, leaving pink lacing behind. Plenty of visible effervescence streams.

Nose: An interesting aroma. There's definitely that light gose malt base in the background, with the obligatory touch of salinity and minerality, but atop that, there is a definite fruit punch aroma. Almost like cherry anf strawberry gelatin dessert, or a powdered drink. That sort of artificial fruit punch aroma. It isn't terribly complex at all. It smells like what it's advertised as - a fruit punch gose.

Palate: Like the nose, the palate delivers exactly what is promised. It's a fruit punch gose in every sense of the word. What surprised me, is that there is actually quite a bit of gose that comes through. It isn't overpowered by the fruit punch aspect. The first sip reveals a pleasantly, almost surpringly salty zip, followed by a healthy streak of minerality. Perhaps a touch of coriander in there as well. The fruit punch flavour is there, but it's delightfully dry, lacking any and all possible sweetness. This really allows for the salty gose character to shine, without coming across as too artificial. It's like an essence of fruit punch. The fruit punch flavour quickly shifts, and for the duration of the experience, is a background note to the base gose. The finish ramps up the minerality and brings a final kick of salinity, before everything finishes in the cleanest, quietest way possible. The faintest aftertaste of dry fruit punch remains, and lingers on.

Mouthfeel/Body: The beer is light, airy, and incredibly crisp. Despite its ultralight body, the texture of the salinity, as well as the fine, lively, seltzer-like effervescence gives it a whole lot of texture, and the beer never even approaches the point of being watery or weak. Everything combined results in a beer that is absurdly refreshing and ridiculously drinkable.

Overall: This is definitely a new-age niche sort of beer. I have torn, opposing opinions when it comes to offerings like this. Personal opinions aside, I have to admit that this is definitely one of the better ones. They kept it quiet, reserved, and preserved the integrity of the base beer, which I find really helps it out. It may be a little unorthodox. It may be a little strange. It may be glowing with the crazy glow of Red 40 Lake dye... But it's an interesting, flavourful, and refreshing twist on a classic and underappreciated style of beer.

 

 

 

 

 

Can. This thing pours a bright, screaming red. Vibrant. Flavor is very fruit punch. I think I had a J. Wakefield beer before that went for the same idea. This is actually better than I anticipated. Oddly too bitter, though.