Spring Shandy
Toolbox Brewing Company

Picked up a bottle of this from our Summer 2016 trip down the California coast and into Baja. Hit up Toolbox on the way back. Thought this outta be an interesting beer, a berliner (me likeeee) and a shandy (meh).

Pours slightly darker than either 'style' has for a norm. This is dark gold leaning into some amber/copper coloring. 1/3" white head. Aroma is like a diet breakfast, grapefruit, wheat, ginger, lemonade.

Like most Toobox beers, this one brings a real strong sourness that is pretty clean, no wet dog in a phone booth going on here. Light bodied as any berliner or shandy should be, but a good amount of citrus variety going on. Sure its acidic, but not to burning your insides levels. I didn't hate the ginger here. I guess that makes 2 ginger beers I like now. Ratios.

I wouldn't mind seeing another brewer go with the ginger and grapefruit combo, it worked here, makes me wonder what it might do in a non sour but hoppy brew.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Light clody straw in color, and just as the label implies, ginger and grapefruit dominate the aroma and flavor, with a wonderfully intense sourness that is right to style but somehow unexpected. The smell did not imply the intensity. Very light and easy to rapidly consume. Cheers!

 

Pours a murky light whitish-yellow with a foamy off-white head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Foamy patches of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is slightly sour with grain, grapefruit juice, dirty ginger root, earth, and acidic aromas. Taste is much the same with sour ginger root, ginger juice, grapefruit juice, earth, and acidic flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of acidity and heat on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer with an interesting mix of sourness and heat from the ginger in the taste.

Serving type: bottle.