Training Wheels - Cherry
Fixed Gear Brewing Co

At my lady Pamela's house; canned and chilled, from my favourite LCBO at The Roundhouse Centre in nearby Windsor. My first beer from the Guelph, ON brewery.

Poured a 473ml can into a pint glass. A pale pink bubbly head on a slightly hazy bright pale red. The head soon disappears. No lacing.

Lacto sour in the nose. A faint cherry smell.

A very mild cherry flavour. Mildly sour with a slightly sweet finish.

A medium light body with good carbonation.

As described, an entry level sour by virtue of it's weak sourness and mild flavour profile. Overall a not too demanding decent summer sour.

first sour.. Sour cherry fruity juicey, best of bunch i had in flight. just a bit sweet. this is a nice summer beer for sure!

Tallboy from the LCBO; dated Dec 13 2021 and served slightly chilled.

Pours a hazy, translucent pinkish colour that reminds me of watermelon 'juice'; it's crowned with two fingers of soapy, foamy, pale pink-tinged head that falls apart within three minutes or so. A tight collar of froth lives on, surrounding a filmy islet in the middle - meets visual expectations, in that it looks as you'd expect a cherry sour to look. Stinky sock lacto funk on the nose, punctuated by notes of grainy malt, earthiness and cherry juice.

Tastes better than it smells - the sweetness of the cherry juice is immediately noticeable, and soon joined by flavours of grainy malt and lemon zest. Cherry yogurt and lactic acidity at the finish, which is modestly sour/tart; lightly funky, with hints of cherry juice lingering into the aftertaste momentarily before drying off. Light in body and aggressively carbonated: feels crisp on the tongue with a good, firm bite. It's kind of refreshing, and theoretically sessionable, I suppose.

Final Grade: 3.47, a serviceable B-. With its name alone (intentionally or not), Cherry Training Wheels kind of suggests you are dealing with a "beginner's sour", and I think that's a fair, succinct assessment. It tastes like cherry juice, and it's a little sour - exactly the sort of thing that might help a non-sour-drinking beer geek become a bit more acclimated to the style. If you really like cherry sours, this might tickle your fancy, or it might just get your hopes up before dashing them. In short, I wouldn't turn this beer down, but I doubt I'll buy it again.

Just a common sour. It's got the lactobacillus thing going, the lemony tartness, the dry finish. Not enough cherry there to muscle it's way into the character of the beer. Initially comes across as tart apple. Cherry does lend it an electric pink hue, though. Drinkable, but ordinary.

473 ml can served cold into a pint glass. LCBO purchase for around $3.50 CDN. Review from notes.

Appearance - Mildly hazy pinkish beer with a small half finger of off-white and pinkish head.

Smell - Cherry all the way with a bit of earthy funk. Not the biggest nose to be sure.

Taste - Cherry, with some sourness, all watered down a little bit, but there a sweetness at the end that kind of brings it full circle.

Mouthfeel - Medium-light bodied, middling-low carbonation, works well with the flavors of the beer.

Overall - Certainly not a great sour, but this has a kind of quality that is more intense and less sweet than a radler, clearly being beer, but refreshing and light and eminently drinkable that has some appeal. Would certainly give this another try, especially on a hot summertime day.

Sours aren’t really my thing and I’ve had better sours than this. The cherry intrigued me, but not very impressive. The other beers from this brewery are excellent, but this one is meh.
February 23 2020