Just Ripe: Blackberry & Pineapple
Untold Brewing

I first had a couple beers from Untold last weekend when hanging out with some friends by a backyard fire. Their IPA we had (I forget the name) was pretty generic/decent, but their sweet stout with marshmallows and cacao nibs was legitimately like drinking a glass of alcoholic hot cocoa (well, it wasn't hot... but you get the idea), and, if you like that kind of thing, it was freakin' awesome. When I saw this one in my local store, I figured I should pick up a single because the fruit combo seems very intriguing. I have no idea what blackberry and pineapple together would really taste like, and the fact that they declare the use of El Dorado hops on the can as well just interested me more. Let's see what's going on with this offering.

This pours like Riptide Rush Gatorade in my glass (seriously, that's exactly what it reminded me of when I was decanting it; I was actually shocked by the color); a cool, purplish color that comes together to look more like an opaque red sangria-type hue when all of the liquid is poured into my glass. My first small pour had a smallish, semi-retentive head that eventually burned away to nothing, but it built up and lasted a bit longer than most other quick fruited sours I see on the market. I'm mostly just impressed by the insane coloration of this beer. There's probably a loooot of fruit in here.

An incredibly unusual yet alluring nose rises from the liquid in my glass... I mean, yeah, it obviously smells like a combination of dark berries and bright tropical fruit... that much is obvious. But, on top of that, I get some light notes of peach candy, passion fruit, and dragonfruit with maybe even a little hint of lychee as well. It smells really nuts, honestly, like a battle between trying to be vivacious on one hand and subtly-mysterious on the other. The dark and light side of fruited sours, going mano-a-mano in my glass... alright, how does it taste?

My first sip feels bracingly sour and tart with a huge ripe red berry component mingling well with the tropical acidity of the pineapple plus the sour culture. It's not too lactic/yogurty or intense, and no actual lactose added or anything means this is bone-freaking-dry and super spritzy. It's also kind of heavy and unusually-hoppy, but I guess the El Dorado addition wasn't all for naught. It's actually a pretty inspired use of this hop, as it tends to play well with tropical flavors and can add some stone fruit (might be the origin of the peach-like candy in the nose?) here and there. I would drink this again and give more of this series a shot, for sure. I'm a devout follower of some other local sour series (Idle Hands' Kill Your Idles and Banded's Charms & Hexes are a couple notable ones), and this may be a new one to keep an eye out for if you're into that kinda thing like I am.