Resistance Is Fruitile
Barreled Souls Brewing Company

Poured from can into a 16oz goblet.

Looks an opaque pinkish-purple with purple head that didn't last long.

Smell is a strong mix of fruits, but raspberry hits the hardest. Also a bit of mustiness.

Taste follows smell, and there is a lot of it! a blend of raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, currant and blackberry as suggested on the can. Also an additional, distinct kettle sour tartness. You can also taste a hint of alcohol, it is 8.5% after all!

Feel is thinner and lighter than the taste and appearance indicate. It's fairly high carbonation and doesn't linger very long.

Overall, it's solid imperial sour. Completely full of flavor -- i don't think i need more than one of these but i will enjoy this one.

 

Poured into a 16 oz Nordic pint glass, not sure when it was canned. Pours a very attractive pinkish purple, with a 2 plus finger off white head with pinkish hues that leaves behind some small bubbles of lace, with solid retention. 4.75

Smell is bold raspberry, currant, blueberry, strawberry, must, and hints of vanilla a tad tart for sure. 4

Taste follows raspberry, must, and currant strike first piss pounding the palate, with, blueberry, strawberry, and vanilla in the bold long lingering finish. 4

Mouthfeel is above average, maybe a tad dry, plenty of life, and at 8.5% it is loaded with flavor and some work to drink, but so intense you keep working on it. 4.25

Overall this was a risk for me, it is tart as hell and the flavor is off the charts, but I would tackle this beast again. Well done and a gorgeous beer. 4

 

Pint can - no date - poured into a tulip at 45F.

Pours a deep wine stain burgundy hue, with three fingers of foamy magenta head, with superb retention, and intricate lacing. The body itself is completely opaque with a dull matte sheen.

Nose: Berries on berries. Sweet macerated blackberry, blueberry, currant, and raspberry. The lacto tang also gives a hint of creaminess, giving the impression of mixed berry yogurt. There's a faint note of salinity, as a good gose should possess. There's a faint impression of clean, pale grain, which shows the senses that it's still certainly beer, however, there is no olfactory indication of any hopping.

Palate: Both a subtle sweetness, restrained tartness, and hint of salinity hit the palate simultaneously. The bouquet of berries comes into focus next, with strawberry and raspberry taking the lead. Flavours of currant, blackberry, and blueberry are also evident. The sweetness and flavour of the berries paired with the slightly salty tang really go nicely together, and all is well. However, there is a very sharp, almost acrid bitterness that comes into clear focus shortly after. It isn't a pithy or resinous bitterness that one would associate with hops, but rather a very tannic, almost medinal bitterness, like what you would find in the pits or seeds of certain fruit. I'm not entirely sure if perhaps the berry seeds are responsible for this bitterness, or if it's due to something else, but it is quite distracting, and ultimately detrimental to the overall experience. There is also a creamy, milky flavour that tastes exactly like lactose, although the can says nothing about it, therefore I will assume there is none in the beer. This creamy aspect slightly dampens the bitterness a little, but not entirely, as it lasts well into the finish, where the creaminess fades away, along with the sweetness and salinity, leaving a fairly dry aftertaste, with the bitterness being the only thing to linger.

Mouthfeel/Body: The beer is medium-to-full-bodied, with a thick, creamy feel about it, giving it a "milkshake-like" quality. Effervescence is very fine, and rather scarce, to the point where it feels like it's lacking a little bit. The little bit of carbonation seems to be at odds with the creamy body. The beer is fairly wet upfront, becoming fairly dry in the finish.

Overall: This beer feels confused. It looks great, it smells great, and it tastes great, for the first third of the experience, before the aggressive, biting bitterness comes in, and lasts well into the finish. The mouthfeel isn't a strong point of this beer. The thick creamy body seems out of place, and is somewhat of a turnoff. The enjoyable qualities just don't seem to outweigh the distracting negative qualities, and for me, personally, I have a hard time enjoying this one. There are others that will not mind the texture, and even fewer who may be able to look past the astringent bitterness, but for me, it's a miss - and that's saying nothing of the serious price tag on this one.