Hydra - Melted Gelato
Mortalis Brewing Co.

16oz can from Tavour. Violet pour, pink head. Aroma is berries and vanilla. Taste adds lactose sweetness to the sweet tart fruity flavors. Creamy to a fault

 

Pours an opaque, deep, dark purple coloration with a delayed, bubbly head explosion. Smells of blackberry, raspberry, vanilla and marshmallow. Taste is an excellent balance of tart berries and sweet vanilla and marshmallow notes, with the blackberry and raspberry featuring pretty evenly. Thick, chewy mouthfeel with a rich body and light carbonation.

The Pastry Sour style remains my guilty pleasure. I'd hesitate to call this a "beer", really feeling more like a full-on fruit smoothie, but I still love it. I know I have given Mortalis shit in the past for not being "best-in-style" and I still don't think that they necessarily are, but their stuff certainly is damn good and this is probably the best one that I've had from them so far, with a great balance of tart and sweet notes, intense and vibrant fruit, as well as a great, thick and chewy mouthfeel. Almost worth the fucking 11€ I paid for this can.

Looks like a big glass of grape jelly, with big geometric bubbles floating on top. Scents of berry and vanilla ice cream and marshmallow. Taste is the same, very sweet and fruity. Mouth watering finish, almost negligible alcohol presence, a smooth easy sipper. I like it.

 

 

I’ve had beers brewed with ice cream, from this exact brewery in fact, and despite never having had a beer brewed with gelato, it seems like a logical next step. Let’s crack it open and see what it’s all about

Pours an opaque reddish purple with a finger of frothy bright red head that fades to a ring and leaves nice lacing

The nose is thankfully not very sweet, quite tart but balanced. I’m picking up on aromas of tart raspberry, lime juice, tannic blackberry, lemon gelato, sweet vanilla, light milk chocolate, and strawberry

The simplistic tartness of the nose doesn’t quite carry over into taste, but it’s still damn good. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting jammy blackberry, vanilla ice cream, juicy blueberry, lemon juice, marshmallow, and light milk chocolate. The swallow brings notes of tart raspberry, lemon gelato, jammy blackberry, blueberry, marshmallow, milk chocolate, light vanilla, and lime zest

A medium body pairs with gentle tingling carbonation, resulting in a slick beer. Finishes a bit chewy and sticky but doesn’t ruin it

This is another damn good one from Mortalis. They’re the best in the game for Smoothie Sours

 

Drank from a 1 pint/16 fl.oz. can purchased at Gordon’s Fine Wines & Liquors, Watertown, MA
Served in a tulip

The beer poured an insanely viscous, deep burgundy hue the was truly reminiscent of melted gelato. A three-finger tall, reverse cascading, light violet crown rose above the body. The bubbles in the head started out very small and grew much larger with time, eventually turning into something reminiscent of the bubbly cap you might find on top of an egg cream. A thick, sticky, pockmarked curtain of lacing coated the glass from top to bottom and stuck until the drink’s end.

The aroma was outstanding. Berry notes dominated. Blackberry was most prominent. Raspberry was a distant second. I thought I picked up some chocolate too. Sweet vanilla notes were also apparent. Perhaps some marshmallow as well. The berry presence became even sweeter and stronger with time.

The flavor profile was just as spectacular as the aroma. Again, berry notes dominated. Really fresh bright. Blackberry was most apparent. Super punchy and sweet. Raspberry was noticeable too. Slightly tart. Vanilla was detectable as well. More lingering sweet-tart fruity notes and an hint of acidity on the back end and in the finish.

The mouthfeel was insanely rich and creamy. Completely full bodied for the style. The liquid contained a super fine and mellow effervescence that turned amazingly slick and smooth on the palate.

Gelato might seem like a crazy addition to a beer, but it worked perfectly in this one. Mortalis’s Hydra series fruited sours have a tendency to be kitschy and excessive, but this one was nearly perfect in every regard.

Poured from a 16 ounce undated can into a tulip glass.

Look- Burgundy, dark pink curdley head, opaque, multicolored visible particulate, above average curdley/granular lacing, average head retention.

Smell- Blackberry, raspberry, cream, medium strength of scent.

Taste- Blackberry, raspberry, vanilla ice cream, sweet, sour finish, high strength of flavor.

Feel- Full body, milkshake like, average carbonation, moderately mouth coating, sweet, sour finish.

Overall- Appearance was burgundy with a curdley head. Bouquet was of medium strength with predominant blackberry and raspberry notes. Flavor was blackberry/raspberry ice cream with a feel reminiscent of a milkshake. This delivered an enjoyable drinking experience with both sweet and sour tones.

 

 

 

 

No canning date. Can to snifter.

L: Pours a very dark red with a purplish red head that leaves more lacing than I've ever seen before. It's hard to talk about floaters here cause the whole thing is a completely opaque pureed fruit mass.

S: Red berry ice cream with a focus on blackberry and raspberry. Hints of vanilla and pastry dough.

T: Blackberry and raspberry are dominating here, too. Pastry-like vanilla hints as well. Just what you expected after smelling the beer first. Medium fruity sweetness with some tart notes.

F: Very thick with a minimal amount of carbonation.

O: Ok, this is some crazy stuff. The foam's already as thick as a smoothie with the beer tasting - yes, that's right - like melted red berry ice cream. Look and feel are extraordinary, smell and taste are pretty straight forward. Overall a great beer.

Can purchased at Empire Liquors poured into a teku, thank you @nathanb47

Poured like liquid raspberry jam…dense, thick , pulpy yet i see a few streams of carbonation..like the gas bubbles that erupt from a primordial swamp…and, then..then the foam it..rises…your know the foam head that is produced off of a nitro tap when you get a Guinness? Imagine that in purple …looks wild . It sits there , like a two finger thick layer of purple swamp scum, looks crazy . The retention is infinite..it sits there..waiting for Godot..it has not moved in 10 minutes after the pour

Aroma is blackberry and raspberry ice cream

Taste is blackberry and raspberry ice cream ,sweet and then tart, starts sweet finishes sour, berry fruits

Mouthfeel is like a smoothie with a slight sour tingle , dairy creamy sorta like a milk shake, tart finish

Good …beer? Smoothie ? Sour???Its different but good

Ok so WTF is this pour about? Super thin, no bubbles, then WHAM. Yeah...it's a freakin' blood red extra thick milkshake. I guess that is a head, but it looks more like what floats on a frappe, about an inch thick. I don't know...I have to assume it is supposed look like that and I do like the color, so OK I can dig it.

The smell is amazing. It has everything it says it has fruit-wise in a pretty powerful, fresh fruit smelling package. Then there is a very clear hit of marshmallow sweetness and a bit of vanilla. I have no idea what ice cream was used, but with no extraneous smells I am guessing vanilla. Wait...what's this...I can actually smell a little malt that is weak, but a bit towards the bready side.

I didn't expect this...but I have to say the taste is incredible! It is truly milkeshake-like as most of the flavors of fruit and the marshmallow flavor all hit like a sledgehammer, then marshmallow sweetness comes in to balance the mild sourness. Vanilla is just a trace here. Very fresh. Insanely fruity. And right after thinking it's over, there's the beer part again. Kind of reminding me of shortcake, but likely influenced by the whole fruit and marshmallow thing. Definitely a beer taste though. Sweet, not sickly sweet. Mildly sour and mostly detectable as being from the fruit. A tiny bit of bitterness like the berry seeds impart, enough of a malt taste to remind it is (maybe) beer.

The feel is weird...that foamy bit on top is very thick, dense and creamy, and a little hard to get through. The liquid itself is thick, pulpy. Super smooth, super thick, a bit rich. It lives up to the name, actually - liquid ice cream fruity smoothie marshmallow thing is more or less the feel and overall effect.

Ok...I have no idea what to do with this! It's awesome, I like it a lot which is a total shock to my beer sensibilities. It's not in the database. I've never had anything remotely like this before, but I have to say, I'd drink another one in a heartbeat. Tastes fabulous, smells great, silky smooth, and it makes me happy. What more can one want from a 16 ounce can?