Double Papaya Shake
Great Notion Brewing

 

the rate and fervor around these have slowed in idaho, it was fast and intense there for a bit when they first came in, but things have really settled back, mostly the same ones around, so i was excited to see this, especially on tap, papaya, passion fruit, and vanilla in this, still weird to me to have imperial kettle sours, but here we are, and this is indeed a fine small doses drink, although its neither as boozy or as overly flavored and sugary as i expected it to be, so i could have had a bit more than a small pour perhaps, better than novelty level, even in novelty style ranges, which is kind of what makes these guys who they are. cool showcase of a fruit often impeded on my others, the passion fruit is subservient, honest to my senses, and easy to pick apart from the less common papaya, which to me stands out as the star in this, even a heap of vanilla cant overpower it, which is a great proportionality for this, it leads with papaya in aroma and flavor, and i dig that. not as dense and thick and murked out on tap as maybe it is from the can, or as many in this style space are, kind of unassuming with the fruit not coloring it much and not really any sediment in play, better carbonation than anticipated too, short white head but some lace there. the aroma and flavor do the same thing, tart but as much from the fruit as the lactic element, mouthwatering, green papaya, ripe juicy generic tropical fruit including cantaloupe and the obvious passion fruit, lemon and orange, and the sweetening vanilla, which is strong but not over the top to me, and manifests mostly on the finish and after the swallow actually. papaya has the skin and the flesh and even the seeds, is genuine to me, and climaxes in the dead center of this, almost in isolation, some citrus with it, but beautiful and distinctive, the rest of the beer seems smartly built in service of that, and i like that there is some appreciable malt to this, so many of these dont even taste like beer, but the grain keeps it there for me, good construction choice. not overly sweet as these go, some body to it, creamy almost, not real acidic, awesome fruity recall with the vanilla, yellow cakey, summery too, and quite well done overall! the alcohol really is a nonfactor.

 

16oz can. No dating information found.
Cloudy, deep gold colored body. One finger of white head disappears within a couple of minutes, leaving some bubbles and a thin ring. No lacing.
Aroma is strong with papaya and vanilla.
Taste is tart and also a little sweet. Flavors of papaya, passion fruit, apricot, and vanilla. Quick drop off in the aftertaste.
Has a medium syrup mouth feel. Coats the mouth and tongue. Good carbonation.
Tasty kettle sour with both tart and sweet sides. Employs papaya to a good end.

 

Delicious offering from GN here; pours from the 16oz can a beautiful, glowing gold with half a finger of bright, soapy white head. To me this leans more fruit beer than sour, the tartness is moderate and the stone fruit/tropical fruit vibes lead the nose and palate...this is full of papaya, peach, apricot, with a nice vanilla note as well. Good stuff.