Raspberry Sour Ale
Lucky Envelope Brewing

 

(4 oz taster pour at the brewery 3 Jul 2024... reviewed from notes and recollections)

red liquid with pinkish highlights and decent clarity... mildly tart; more malty with a hint of nutty yeast

recollections: was quite fruity, but only marginally sweet... I could see enjoying a larger glass of it, as its subtle acidity/tartness, combined with the carbonation, lended an almost soft drink or spritz-like quality (2335)

canned 10/12/22, drank on 12/06/22
poured out of 16 oz can into pint glass
this is my first sour so I am quite unfamiliar with the style

roughly .3 in head with fine uniform bubbles that quickly dissipates leaving no lacing. The color is pinkish amber and slightly cloudy.

raspberry dominates the nose, while I can hardly smell anything else it is not unpleasant.

unripe raspberry is the primary flavor, very low bitterness and somewhat one note. This beer is acidic and crisp. While it doesn't seem to be very complex to me it is nicely refreshing, but I wish there was a bit more going on. The finish is acidic and retains almost all of the raspberry flavor.

the carbonation is light and the bubbles almost feel small. The overall mouthfeel seems surprisingly rich to me, not heavy or thick whatsoever, but certainly not watery.

This beer is pleasant, well suited for a summer or spring day in the park. I wish I tried it then and not in the middle of winter. A nice beer I would be happy to have in the future, but would not seek out.

 

Low on fruit, brief simple sour flavor without much depth or complexity.

the only two beers i have had from these guys are sours, and both were pretty good, but neither blew my mind. this one has a lot more raspberry character than it does color, just a little pink, and not much head on it. the smell is quite piquant, but clean on the souring side, a quick bacterial thing, puckery and acidic it seems, with some obvious tang added by the raspberries, a tannic element, and some lemon notes in the lacto profile as well, summery but bracing, my mouth waters. the flavor is nice, as sour as it smells, and becoming even more so as it warms. the raspberry element is natural to the fruit, but missing is the ripe berry sweetness, the only apparent sugar left in this seems to be from a bit of crystal malt, not the fruit. as such, the berries are mostly just sour, and its pretty darn piquant overall, almost sour enough that this has to be a one and done for me. more carbonation would be nice, but its more bubbly than it looks. not complex enough to really stand out as unique, but slightly above average in the style overall. lots of fruit, lots of acid.

 

 

 

The color is the "eye of the swan" pinkish pale amber. Not much foam in the chalice but prickly on the tongue. Some fruity aroma. This is described as a kettle sour but it's not excessively acidic, and the fruit flavor comes through nicely. There's even a little malty sweetness along with the tangy raspberry flavor.

Refreshing and zingy, and fairly drinkable. So I call it a successful not-too-sour ale. From the 22 oz bottle purchased at Malt & Vine in Redmond.