Gemini - Strawberry + Kiwi + Starburst
Mortalis Brewing Co.

Off-putting appearance, with lots of sediment, and a fun but overly sweet flavor profile. A full pint of this felt excessive; I nearly drain poured the last third of the can. 3/10 tartness and 9/10 sweetness. If you're going to try this one, I suggest splitting it with someone. I bought this because of curiosity and hype and ended up more perplexed than impressed.

 

 

An opaque, sort of deep coral pink coloration. Frothy carbonation and loads of residual fruity (and candy?) sediment left floating in the glass.

The nose is unmistakably fresh strawberry and pink Starbursts. You get that slight tang of kiwi, but everything combines to give that ambrosia salad feel.

The palate is a great combination of all three "adjuncts". Starburst candies, tart kiwi, and a pleasant touch of acid and strawberry on the finish. At a few months old there's a touch of ox that creeps into the tail, but that's no fault of the beer as it's intended to be drank.

Good mouthfeel; thick, but not overly. A tartness that's briefly puckering, and hits with the slightest touch of warmth on the end just to remind you that what you're sipping is 7% ABV.

 

 

Drank from a 1 pint/16 fl. oz. can purchased at Gordon’s Fine Wine and Liquor, Watertown, MA
05/23/23
Served in a tulip

The beer poured a vibrant pinkish-orange hue that was reminiscent of pink guava juice. A thin, frothy, light pink cap topped the liquid, but it quickly dissolved. A bunch of sediment that looked like a mixture of yeast particles and berry seeds collected in the bottom of the glass. As the liquid receded, a wall of fine, clear particles coated the glass.

The aroma was interesting but quite artificial. An intensely sweet fruity quality that reminded me of Hawaiian Punch dominated. Potent strawberry Jolly Rancher notes were apparent as well. Loads of orange candy too. Super sweet overall but also somewhat tart. I probably would not guess Starbursts as an adjunct without prior knowledge of the beer’s ingredients, but this definitely made sense. The kiwi, unfortunately, was lost in the mix.

The flavor profile followed the nose. Hawaiian Punch was again the dominant note. Candy-like strawberry and orange notes came through big time. Tart lemon-lime notes appeared in the center and intensified on the back end and in the finish. Interesting lingering sweet-tart quality after the swallow.

Medium-full bodied mouthfeel. Slippery and slick on the palate. The liquid contained a super fine and fairly mellow carbonation.

I typically love Mortalis’s fruited sours, but this beer was far too sweet and artificial for my liking. When they stick to fruits alone, their beers are usually amazing, but the fruit candy additions take them in a direction that I typically do not like.

 

 

 

I’m never surprised when Mortalis uses a non-fruit adjunct in their Fruited Sours, but I’m fairly certain this is the first time I’ve seen them use an actual candy. It’s interesting they don’t specify what flavor of Starburst, perhaps it’s a blend of them all. Let’s crack ot open and find out

Pours an opaque pinkish orange with 2 fingers of pinkish white head that quickly fades to a ring and leaves minimal lacing

It’s definitely sweet and candy like in the nose, but there’s a nice tartness for balance as well. I’m picking up on aromas of juicy strawberry, cherry candy, vanilla, tart kiwi, orange juice, lemon zest, and light custard

It’s more of the same in taste, and I’m perfectly fine with that. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting juicy strawberry, tart kiwi, lemon zest, orange juice, vanilla creme, and cherry candy. The swallow brings notes of juicy strawberry, cherry candy, orange juice, vanilla creme, custard, light raspberry, and lemon zest

A medium body pairs with gentle carbonation, resulting in a rich beer. Finishes rather sticky but not overly sweet

Yeah, this one is great. The candy notes don’t exactly scream “Starburst” but it’s a fun beer regardless

 

 

5 months old. Can to snifter.

L: Pours a muddy light red with no head and just a tiny bit of lacing. Fruit sediment floating all over the place.

S: Fresh strawberries paired with hints of kiwi. Jammy and candy-like.

T: Half strawberries, half kiwi. Sweet, slightly tart and minimally bitter.

F: Thick and juicy. Medium carbonation. Tingling.

O: Simple combination, that works really well. There‘s not much more than strawberries and kiwi, but they complement each other very nicely. Great feel, nice balance. Very good beer.

 

So right off the bat, this one was easily the ugliest of the bunch. It poured like the others - thicc, chunky, and smoothie like. But this one had these little white curdled chunk pieces floating on the top of the beer when it poured out. I honestly do not know what they were, but I actually spooned them off the top of the beer before drinking it. Oh yea, and there are kiwi seeds sitting at the bottom of the glass. The aroma is as advertised - a blast of fruit with kiwi and strawberry coming through clearly. Reminds me so much of the strawberry kiwi capri suns. Its fruity - it has got the fruit it claims to have in it coming through - all that is missing is the starburst which I am not getting at all on the nose.

Taste follows the nose - lots of strawberry and kiwi with an odd candy like sweetness. The starburst makes an appearance! Sweet, fruity - like a capri sun, but wth the actual fruit. Tart, moderately sour, but not overly so. Feel is thick, heavy, filling. Chunky, and kind of - I do not know how best to describe it - but gritty? It is the feeling of the actual fruit debris in the beer. Moderate carbonation.

Overall the taste on this one was pretty good if you like strawberry and kiwi - which I do. But it is a heavy, filling beer and it was ugly enough I literally spooned stuff out before drinking it. Still not sure what to make of these ...

16oz. can into a Founders snifter.

FIrst off, this is not a beer. This is a cocktail in a glass. That being said, since this is BEERadvocate, I will rate it on the beer metric. Pours like a fruit smoothie. Because it is a fruit smoothie. Chunky, viscous, with bits of fruit puree. Nose is strawberry and kiwi. Lots of candy and sugar. Exactly as described. Beer opens strawberry, vanilla, sweet cream, and cane sugar. Strawberry, cherry and raspberry starburst notes throughout. Ends more vanilla and sweet cream. I'm a big fan of fruit smoothies and the flavor here is delicious. Body is full with low carbonation. Smooth, chunky and viscous on the palate and goes down filmy with a long, lingering aftertaste. Not exactly refreshing.

In terms of enjoyability, there's no argument that this is delicious. But again, from the standpoint of being a beer, I don't know that this is even close to being on the fence of what a beer is supposed to be defined as.