Transformer
Barreled Souls Brewing Company

Whitish straw color. Cloudy. Minor head that leaves a couple of splotches of lace.

Lots of grapefruit to the nose. Some weediness in the background.

Spicy, almost “hot”, hop flavor dominates the overall profile. The malt base is weak and brief. Quite strong for a pale ale. Decent body with a lower level of carbonation. Long lingering aftertaste.

From a 16oz can, undated - this iteration is pale ale with Simcoe and Vista hops. Served in a cervoise.

Pours a hazy, pale straw-gold with two fingers of foamy white head. Retention is unremarkable, leaving a fizzy cap and a barely rousable, super-slippery sheet of lacing.

Nose is earthy-floral, fruity and maybe a little wine-like. Aroma of grapes, pineapple and paint thinner.

Taste is thinner, more tart and watery than expected. Tasting white wine and water cracker, tart orange, sour grape and underripe peach. Flower petal and peach pit aftertaste.

Feel is clean and crisp, medium-thin bodied with zesty carbonation - pretty much spot-on relative to the style, feels lighter than its stated 6.3% abv.

Overall, a bit lighter, thinner, more puckery, sour and riesling-like than I might have preferred - from a man who has been drinking far too many big NEDIPA’s - fwiw I may have lost the ability to appreciate something light, bright and quenching.

From an undated 16 oz. can sampled April 1, 2023.

It looks basically like the style should with its hazy, murky, light amber color under a disappearing white head..

The aroma is all about grapefruit with some pine and a lower profile grainy character.

Medium mouthfeel.

The taste is grainy, grapefruit, and incredibly bitter. It ends with a burning bite basically. Is that good or bad? But it is notable.

 

 

 

 

No date on can, shame.

Barreled Souls - Transformer

Pint can - no date - poured into an IPA glass at 38°F.

Pours a dingy earthy yellow - heavy haze, and topped with a finger of white head with poor retention, leaving no lacing as it recedes. No visible effervescence.

Nose: Definitely immediately picking up on that Amarillo. Ripe guava and grapefruit juice. I'm not at all experienced with Sultana, so I can't spot it, but there's a slight soapy note, some sugary sweet red berries, maybe some artificial grape, and something I can't quite put my finger on. Like that signature bold earthy note you get in Nugget hops. Definitely an ineresting aroma. Super fruity.

Palate: The beer greets the palate with light pale malt - almost crackery, and quite dry, immediately followed by the hops. Like the nose, it's a rather odd flavour profile. Still getting that underlying Amarillo with guava and grapefruit, but there's also this odd soapy note, an almost savoury note, and definitely some of that earthy/spicy, almost dirty Nugget note. Maybe a very faint hint of underripe pineapple. The hops build - the earthy notes winning out, and the finish then displays a thin smattering of IBUs with plenty more earthy, spicy, and slightly savoury hop notes. Quite dry.

Mouthfeel/Body: The beer is light to medium-light in body. The pale malt has a whisper of softness to it, but otherwise, it's quite light and super crisp. Moderate effervescence, quite dry, drying finish.

Overall: This is an odd one. I've never heard of Sultana hops, but if this is any indication of what they're like, I'm guessing I don't like them. The soapy and savoury notes just stick out and don't compliment the beer. The earthiness is alright, but better suited against a backdrop of sweeter malts. This just seema loud and disorganised, and I can't get on board with it. Take those hops out and replace them with Citra, Mosaic, or even Chinook, Columbus, Challenger, or something equally earthy or piney, and it would greatly improve. This is disjointed and rough.