Party Jam Blueberry
Hermit Thrush Brewery

 

Can. Little white head. Not much lace.

Kettle sour with blueberry. Not much else to say. Sour, tart, light flavored. Lemon. A bit of acidity. Light all around. Kind of meh.

Can into Nucleated Tulip
Look: Hazy purple-red body, pouring 1.5 finger off-white head which dissipated into a thin cap
Smell: Lots of citric acid, hint of yeast, some blueberry and some light malt
Taste: Very tart, some near artificial tasting blueberry. some metallic note. Soft toasty malt finish
Feel: Light-medium body, moderate carbonation, smooth finish
Overall: It taste like a sour blueberry ale

 

 

 

 

 

Body is a pinkish purple hue, fairly matte in appearance with a nice head (especially for a sour ale) that even lasts quite long. It smells of a fruit vinegar - near but not quite apple cider along with a hint of spoiled milk. The blueberry isn't distinctive, but there is a sweeter fruit aroma mixed in with the more obvious acidic notes.

Straight sour from the opening, but it stops just short of being puckering. I am getting the blueberry, but it's very light. This fizzy opening seems to flatten by the middle of the taste, I think due to the influence of the bitterness from the hops. The hop notes aren't too distinctive, but their bittering qualities are; forced, I'd say there's a light pine aspect to them.

Regardless, the sour is quelled a bit and the feel is dulled as well. It's just an interlude, though, and the blueberry and light tartness re-enter afterwards, dragging along just a little bit of a tingle in the feel to finish each sip. The sour plays the lead role but isn't dominating, the hops keep this beer on an even keel, and the fruit is a nice little accent.

 

Can't smell or taste any blueberries

 

16oz. can into a Brooklyn Brewery snifter.

Nose is blueberry, vinegar, and tart red fruit. Moderate funk that consists of wet wood and cobwebs. Pretty mellow. Beer opens tart dark fruit. I get prunes, lemon, vinegar, and the most subtle blueberry notes. Some plastic and foam in the middle with sour red fruit in the middle. Same finish. I'm really not getting much blueberry from this one. Body is light with ample carbonation. Prickly and lively on the palate and goes down aggressive with a lingering, filmy finish.

The mouthfeel of this one is great but I'm not really digging the flavor.

 

 

 

 

Can to tulip.
The appearance was a beautiful looking dark magenta/purple color with a more than usual glaze of semi-sustaining finger's worth of white foamy head. Nice to see Hermit Thrush getting more head to come out. Subtle messy sticky lace.
The aroma had a wonderful blend of sweet to tart blueberries up front rolling into some lemon sour rind underneath. Light grassiness further underneath.
The flavor blended fully with tart and sweet blueberries then some sour notes with lemon juice. Mainly all genuine blueberries in the aftertaste.
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied, almost full bodied. A kind sipping quality creeps up to play with some sly grassy smooth clinging but nothing sticky. Carbonation felt good. Really nice finish-fully fruited and punching just a wee little bit.
Overall, I'd say a very nicely done fruited sour ale that I wasn't expecting coming from Hermit Thrush. I'd like to say they "did" something with the yeast. Hmmmmm...I'm definitely going to have to come back to this again.