Beets by Sinden Sour
Town Square Brewing Co.

 

 

 

1L howler from the brewpub in Ellerslie on Edmonchuk's deep, deep (what am I, Little Caesar's?) south side. Named after head brewer Drew Sinden's predilection for beets, apparently.

This beer pours a hazy, medium salmon amber colour, with three fingers of puffy, finely foamy, and somewhat creamy pale pink head, which leaves a bit of streaky and sudsy lace around the glass as it quickly evaporates.

It smells of bready and crackery pale malt, a sort of laid-back lactic sourness, some indistinct earthy vegetal notes, a bit of hard water flintiness, and some edgy citrusy, leafy, and floral hop bitters. The taste is gritty and grainy cereal malt, generic citrus zest, subtle cold borscht, a bit of soured milk, and more peppy leafy, weedy, and floral green hoppiness.

The carbonation is fairly active in its palate-tickling frothiness, the body a decent middleweight, and generally smooth, with a soft airy creaminess arising shortly after take-off here. It finishes trending dry, the complex hops taking command of the lingering, but hardly lumbering enterprise.

Overall - this is a nice little surprise, in that the focus is more on the sour and hoppy essences (a la Blindman), than the titular root vegetable, which is essentially kept around for the gorgeous appearance, IMHO. Crisp, enjoyable, and easy to put back, as I keep track of Team Canada tangling with a wholly different European entity.