New Wave
Ratio Beerworks

 

 

 

 

 

L:. Orange pink color with a lot of haze and a small head and no lacing.

S:. Notes of fresh wild strawberry, with a nice tart lactic acid and wheat in the background.

T: Wheat with notes of tart lactic acid, but not overly tart with notes of sweet strawberry.

F: Light to medium body with higher carbonation

O: A nice fruited Berliner Weiss.

 

 

 

 

we have really seen a tremendous proliferation of the fruited sour wheat styles, and here is another one, although a much better one than the average of the field, you have to dig this. its just a little pink and just a little cloudy, with a big pure white head all airy and light. the fruit is well behind the lactic pucker and the wheat malt, which i like a lot. its just a subtle strawberry in the nose, a little more sweet in the taste, but wild and fresh and authentic and a little tart too, nice with the citrus notes in the lactic sourness and the wheat tannins. like most of these the overall vibe is a little cheap, like its rushed and forced and all of that, but we have to keep up with the trends right, and the cool kids like these guys so much they can do whatever they want anyway. i think its a better beer than almost any other fruited front end sour in denver right now, and it marks a significant step forward for ratio. not too sweet, really delicate on the body, and with plenty of carbonation to make it feel alive. good work, better than average, beer before fruit.

edit: this is either ageing well or improving with successive batches. every time i have one it is better than the previous experience. it seems to have changed a lot, almost enough to warrant another entire review. A strawberry Berliner, and a pretty good showcase of the fruit in here, which is natural but also jammy, sweet and bold in the mix, a nice counterpoint to the tart base beer, which seems a little raw but is clean and well done on the lacto souring side. It has a murky orangey pink color to it (less delicate looking than the first few times ive had it), not much head, and pretty dense in the pint glass it was served to me in, but it smells really good. Sometimes raspberries can be tart in these too, so there is a sort of double jeopardy that leads to a less drinkable beer, but the sweetness of the strawberry is just the opposite here, a balancing element that really works and makes this way more sessionable than I am used to in the style. The fruit is ripe and real, and its in front of both the acidity and the wheat malt, which I can feel a lot more than I can taste. this was not true at all in the past, where the fruit was in the back seat, now it is fully driving. Summery and pleasant, not too sour at all, and better carbonated than it looks like it is. Short of refreshing, but I like how bold the fruit is in here and think they have done a pretty good job with this overall. one of their better beers now i reckon.