Superfood Swell
Athletic Brewing Co.

Canned 6/14/2022

Pours a light, somewhat cloudy (probably fruit puree remnants) gold. Head pulls a disappearing act in quick order. Smells pretty nice; very fruit-forward. The label says there's mango and pineapple puree in the stew and I don't have a hard time believing that. It kind of smells like canned fruit salad in syrup. I get cherries and pear along with the pineapple. Not detecting much mango, but that could just be me. Taste is all tropical fruit; the mango shows up in force along with some coconut and just tons of pineapple. Not overly sweet with just enough bitterness and carbonation to remind you that this is supposed to be a beer and not a juice cocktail. No wort flavor or off-putting hop scents make this an easy win. I swore off hop-forward beers less than two weeks ago, but am glad I took a chance on this one.

This review is comparing this NA beer against other NA beers, as intended by BA. 12 oz canned shipped to me by the brewer in a 6pk. Poured into a modified perfect pint glass. Pours a yellow between lemon and straw. A little less than 1 finger head of relatively short duration. No real lacing. No haze. Taste and smell are both tropical fruit and even my poor olfactory capabilities picked up on the mango and other tropical fruits, although the claimed hint of coconut water was missing to me. The mouthfeel and body were on the better than average (moderate body rather than thin and watery) side for NA beers At only 80 calories and with very noticeable tropical fruit taste and hop bitterness characteristic of a decent IPA and without the wort taste that is common in a lot of NA beers, including a few others from Athletic, this one could earn a slot in my regular line-up even though the looks are not as impressive as some of the other Athletic offerings.