Herbed + Hopped Kettle Sour
Blindman Brewing

Another exceptional sour coming out of the Blindman Brewing camp this time with the help of collaborators Barn Hammer Brewing and Nokomis Craft Ales. A nice light yellow hazy look to this one with some strong initial carbonation but settles nice and quick. A clear bitter taste with elements of the underlying hops in there. Not the typical sour I was expecting and perhaps that's what makes it stand out. Perhaps it is the barley I'm tasting in this case. Subtle but there underneath the sourness.

Paired with Andrew Solomon's The Noonday Demon. A tough pairing with the loss of Anthony Bourdain today. That one will hurt for a while.

 

355ml can - as already noted, this is a three-way collaboration with Nokomis Craft Ales from Saskatchewan, and Barn Hammer Brewing from Manitoba, so named after the Nelson River drainage basin, which runs through all three provinces.

This beer pours a hazy, pale golden straw colour, with three fingers of puffy, finely foamy, and somewhat creamy off-white head, which leaves some melting ice floe pattern lace around the glass as it slowly dissipates.

It smells of gritty and grainy cereal malt, a bit of funky yeastiness, sour milk, a hint of indistinct dark fruitiness, and some understated earthy, floral, and citrusy hop bitters. The taste is bready and doughy pale malt, rosewater, gin sans the kick, lightly soured lacto, some orange and white grapefruit citrus pith, and more tame musty, earthy, and floral hoppiness.

The carbonation is adequate in its palate-serving frothiness, the body a solid medium weight, and generally smooth, nothing really getting in the way of a swell time at this particular juncture. It finishes off-dry, the big malt, citrus, and juniper all making nice in their lingering stance.

Overall - this comes across as a pleasantly balanced, easy-drinking sour ale. No one guest ingredient dominates, they just all work together to create a flavourful experience, like, oh, what's that thing called again?

I've enjoyed Blindman's previous collaborations, but this one really hits the nail on the head. A collaboration with Saskatchewan's Nokomis Craft Ale's and Winnipeg's Barn Hammer Brewing. The "Nelson River" name comes from a shared watershed that empties into the Nelson River and eventually, Hudson Bay. This beer pulls together ingredients from all three prairie provinces and it does it very well. It pours a lovely gold with a nice fluffy white head. The nose is crackery malt, with a faint lactic sour tinge. The taste is where all of the elements pull together - it reminded me of fresh bread with hints of juniper, rosehips, and Chinook hops. This is a limited edition winner, no doubt!