Recess
Aslin Beer Company

 

i regret not looking at the can close enough to see who actually gets the credit for this, and i see here on BA that the beer is listed on the page of both breweries, but im guessing aslin produced it. a little pricey for what it is, these arent cheap singles, but i have pretty much be grabbing up all the stillwater i have been seeing lately, man they are constantly doing collaborations, its nuts! this is almost neon flamingo pink from the can, totally raspberry colored, but without much head after the initial pour, really bright through, even if its not all the way clear. the aroma is fruit forward with a clean tang to it, not overly sour, and the hops lend sympathetic citrus and a light herbal freshness to the beer, its quite hoppy, but its the fruit that drives this. i almost wish for a little more hop bite in the taste, its all dry hops, and it makes this almost explosively juicy, the fruit seems natural enough, intense as it is, and the sourness makes it clean without too much acidity to drink. i wish it had more bubbles, this feels a little flat on the carbonation unfortunately, which doesnt fit these summery lively flavors at all, and as it warms, i do think a little rift between the hops and the fruit opens up, like they are most compatible when this is cold and frosty. technically its not amazing, which is disappointing at this price, but it tastes good, is modern as can be, and seems like a reasonable continuation of what stillwater has been up to. i know a lot less about aslin. i will say though, i had this in close proximity to a raspberry crush from 10 barrel, which is big business craft compared to these two, almost budget craft, bud craft, whatever, but from a flavor and execution standpoint, they arent that different, save the dry hopping. more a compliment to 10 barrel than a dis of this one, but i somehow expected a little more from this...

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the berry harvest first and foremost on the minds of Stillwater and Aslin brewers, the dog days of summer beckon for a bright, tangy and fruity tone of raspberries laced in milk sugars and then dry hopped.

Taking a recess from the heat, Recess, the beer pours a surprisingly deep ruby red hue and with the frothy aesthetics of a spritzy soft drink. As the sparkling foam settles, the bright and tangy scent of raspberries strike the nose with a piquant and citrusy force. Succulent and subtle in sweetness, the maltiness of taffy comes with light cobbler and wafer underpinnings.

As the highly fruit-centric ale unfolds on the middle palate, the juiciness of sour raspberries splash the tastebuds with the rip-roaring radiance of the red berry but also with a supporting cast of lime, lemon, orange peel, dry cider, wine and with a pectin-laced tartness of cranberries and pomegranate. A light peppery bitterness decorates the late palate like the oaken tannins to in red wine.

Medium light in body, the beer wants to be fuller with its robust fruit flavor and its creamy taste and textures, but the acidity and exotic hop profile aid in its drying mouthfeel for a crisp, succinct and highly refreshing finish.

 

 

16 ounce can into tulip glass, best before 8/6/2021. Pours moderately hazy deep ruby red/orange color with a 2 finger fairly foamy and fluffy light pink head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big juicy/tart/tangy red raspberries, fruit skin/seeds, lemon, lime, orange, red grapefruit, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, guava, blueberry, red/green apple, red grape/wine, citrus peel/zest, wood, peppercorn, pine, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, white bread, light leathery/musty/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of raspberries, citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops, fruity/funky/acidic/spicy yeast, lactose, and pale/wheat malt notes; with big strength. Taste of huge juicy/tart/tangy red raspberries, fruit skin/seeds, lemon, lime, orange, red grapefruit, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, guava, blueberry, red/green apple, red grape/wine, citrus peel/zest, wood, peppercorn, pine, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, white bread, light leathery/musty/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tartness; fruit tang; pine, citrus peel/zest, herbal, floral, woody, grassy bitterness; and Brett spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart/tangy red raspberries, fruit skin/seeds, lemon, lime, orange, red grapefruit, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, guava, blueberry, red/green apple, red grape/wine, citrus peel/zest, wood, peppercorn, pine, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, white bread, light leathery/musty/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of raspberries, citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops, fruity/funky/acidic/spicy yeast, lactose, and pale/wheat malt flavors; with a fantastic malt, bitter, tart, spicy, and tangy fruit balance; with no pucker/astringent flavors after the finish. Fairly crisp/clean finishing. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering bitter/tart/tangy/spiciness and carbonation. Medium-plus carbonation, and light-medium body; with a very smooth and moderately creamy, grainy, sticky, acidic, tangy, tannic balanced mouthfeel that is fantastic. Slight lingering resins. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 5.5%. Overall this is a fantastic fruited/hoppy sour/wild ale! All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of raspberries, citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops, fruity/funky/acidic/spicy yeast, lactose, and pale/wheat malt flavors; very smooth and fairly crisp/clean/refreshing to drink with the modestly bitter/spicy/acidic/tangy/tannic/drying finish; not overly lactic. Amazing balance of juicy/jammy raspberries, vibrant/dank/earthy Mosaic hops, Brett/Lacto complexity; lactose, and pale/wheat malts against acidity. Minimal residual sweetness with crisp dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and amazing style example. Not overwhelming on any aspect.

Picked this up a while ago, as the date on the bottom of the can read 12/28/17 with PLAY SAFE written underneath it. This was one of the better examples of the style that I've had as it wasn't a typical fruit beer at all. Reminiscent of a Sour or a Gose, this was lively, fruity, and easy to drink without feeling artificial or contrived.

The pour to this was beet read and loud as the fast receding-head sounded and looked like retreating sea foam. Full of lots of big bubbles, it settled to a thin layer on top of the liquid as there was none left on the side of my pint glass once I took a few sips. Raspberry tartness, blackberry, and lemon were in the nose as they taste contained all of those fruits as well. A bit more sour would have saved the say here as it was hard to detect the hops or anything outside of some salt. Hints of acetate and earthy dankness rounded out the mouthfeel as this was a slow sipper and a bit stronger in the alcohol department that I would have liked.

Even with that in mind, this was close to being a session beer as a dark, lingering sense of strawberries held it's own once the last bubbly bit of liquid went down. Bubbly and somewhat balanced, this malt was basic and there was enough else going on to keep me attention throughout. A fun beer that wouldn't offend anyone and was nice on a mild summer afternoon such as this!

2018-07-15
16oz can served in a pair of Cantillon glasses. Bought it at Texas Wine and Spirits. Date on the bottom is 02/28/17. Not sure if that's good or not...

Looks purplish red. No real head, medium amount of carbonation. Smell is jammy -- raspberries for sure. I get a little bit of vague leafiness that I might associate with the hops.

Taste is a slap in the face. Tons of raspberry. Tart as hell, with a strong bitterness. Very interesting.

Mouthfeel is dry and light. Overall, it's good, and I like it, but it's more interesting than good.