Sour Crusher - Black Currant
Skygazer Brewing Co

Skygazer Brewing Co. "Sour Crusher - Black Currant"
16 fl. oz. can coded "09/29/22 02:34 NEVER STOP LOOKING UP" and sampled on 12/11/22
$4.49 @ Total Wine & More, Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: Whoah! This is a muddy dark-pink/purple colored mess beneath a massive head of lighter colored dark-pink/purple. It's an ugly looking beer which might explain why the label reads "DRINK FROM THE CAN!". I'll forgo asking if it's made with real fruit or flavorings because the answer is right there in the glass. Is this a milkshake beer? It seems like one. In the nose it's fruity but more like fruit pulp than juice although it is also berry-like. I can't say that the aroma is doing much for me. On to the taste then where hopefully things will improve because so far this is not going well. It's tart but not too sour, and berryish but not bright. Do I clearly get black currant? No, it could easily be blackberry and maybe even elder berry but it's close enough. Additionally, black currant has a kind of biting snap to it that I'm just not finding. What else is there? In all honesty, not much. It's kind of like drinking watery fruit puree. Well, I guess that's actually what it is; it's just watered down with beer instead of water. It's not bitter but it still finishes dry. I wish there was something more to it but there's not; it's very one-sided. Do I like drinking black currant fruit puree with some added beer? Meh, it's OK. How strong is this? 5%, right, that makes sense. In the mouth it's full bodied and like fruit pulp to be honest. That's not a bad thing I'm just pointing it out, and in fact the mouthfeel might be the best thing about it. The carbonation is low, and what's there is well contained by the thick milkshake-like body. Looking back, the head didn't really hold up that well and there's no real lacing. The glass is completely covered in fruit pulp which makes an OK substitute I guess, but it also looks like something out of a horror movie. This is not a very good beer. It doesn't even taste like beer. There's no malt character, and certainly no hop character. There's absolutely nothing about it that even suggests that it's a beer beyond a limited carbonation. It could realisitically just be puréed fruit with a little bit of vodka added. It's completely one-sided, and not particularly satisfying in that. It's not that sour, it's not sweet, it's not bitter, and in all honesty even though it's fruity it's a very dull fruitiness. Maybe I've missed something because the other versions of this have received very good reviews.
Review #8,432