Unity: Sour
J. Wakefield Brewing

A: Pours a clear dark reddish purple in color with moderate amounts of active visible carbonation rising quickly from the bottom of the glass and moderate dark ruby red + dark garnet red colored highlights. The beer has a three finger tall fizzy pillowy pink head that reduces to a large patch of very slightly mottled medium thick film covering a little more than 95% of the surface of the beer and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Light amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate to strong aromas of juicy jammy sweet (though with a hint of tartness) blackberry + raspberry along with light to moderate aromas of tropical pineapple. Underneath there is a light to moderate amount of slightly sour wheat malts with moderate amounts of lactose sweetness and light to moderate aromas of lacto tart lemon citrus.

T: Upfront there are just shy of moderate flavors of slightly sour wheat malts with moderate amounts of lactose sweetness and light to moderate flavors of lacto tart lemon citrus. That is followed by moderate flavors of tropical pineapple. Finally there are moderate to strong flavors of juicy jammy sweet (though with a hint of tartness) blackberry + raspberry. Overall there is a just shy of moderate amount of tartness that lingers through the finish.

M: Medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Smooth, almost slightly creamy with a light to moderate amount of acidic prickliness.

O: Easy to drink with well hidden alcohol and quite refreshing with some acidic tartness. Very enjoyable with nice jammy berry flavors as well as some overripe pineapple. Fairly decently balanced with the lactose sweetness and acidic tartness. Definitely one that I would grab again and would be great on a hot summer afternoon.

 

Drank from a 1 pint (16 fl oz.) can purchased at Fenway Beer Store, Boston, MA
Canned on 08/06/20
Served in a tulip

The hazy, garnet colored body was capped by a fluffy, finger-tall, light pink crown that fell to a clingy collar. Large floaties could be seen throughout the liquid. Drippy rings of lacing stuck along the sides of the glass.

The aroma was really berry forward. Blackberry came through strongest. Really jammy and sweet. Moderate amount of raspberry too. I picked up absolutely no pineapple however. Pretty simplistic but very solid.

Compared to the nose, the flavor profile was quite tart and acidic. Berry notes were noticeable again, but here they were a lot more sour and subtle. Underripe raspberries came to mind. Lemon notes appeared in the center. Perhaps this was the pineapple? The tartness and acidity crescendoed on the back end and the finish.

Nice creamy, fluffy mouthfeel. Medium bodied for the style. The liquid contained a finer bubbled, fairly zippy effervescence that turned frothy, slick and smooth on the palate.

Tremenda Bomba was my first fruited sour by J. Wakefield and, like that beer, this too was crisp and refreshing but overly tart and lacking in fruit intensity. I feel like they definitely could have cranked up the berry character a few notches.

Really nice one-off sour from J Wakefield and friends. Beautiful ruby red appearance, huge aromatics of blackberry/pineapple/raspberry/vanilla yogurt and an interesting maple syrup-like sweetness in the flavors. Not too saline or acidic, but also not too sweet

86/100