Fruited Sour Series - Dragon Fruit, Acai, Prickly Pear, Vanilla, Lactose
Western Collective

seems like everything needs to be a series for these guys lately, dont love that model, its like hazy series, sour series, phantasm series, pastry stout series, kind of lame, but i guess its cool they are leaping into a style like this, definitely not what most of us have come to know them for, that is for sure. lovely pink color from the tap on this, the dragon fruit and prickly pear both likely having some influence, but this is girly beer in the worst way, its sweet, perfume forward, and with way too much vanilla and lactose, its sweet more than it sour, the fruit ends up tasting like candy and lotion whether its real or not, and the whole thing seems a little trend chasing and forced to me, despite the fact that is not poorly made or anything. a little thick in the glass but the color is fire, just a very short lived half inch of head. it smells solid, vanilla first with generic berry quality, highly floral and summery, tropical i guess, but a little plastic too. the flavor hints at rose, raspberry, red apple, and piquant cranberry or something, maybe a little wild blueberry, the acai is evident oddly enough, and the vanilla is bigtime on the back end, stays with me too long, unnecessary is the lactose too. its a shame that the sourness is so clean, because its marred by residual sugar, this is one of the few times i actually wish for a little more acid. some lemon pucker would cut through well i think. also a little light on bubbles but it doesnt kill it. this is super modern and new wave, almost annoyingly so, and on the edge of even being beer really without hardly any grain or hop character, but its not bad, and its nice to see these guys taking some risks i guess. hopefully this series will yield some more drinkable brews in future iterations...

16oz can from Brewers Haven. Ruby colored pour with a light pinkish fizzy head. Fruity aroma, berries, light tartness. Taste is sweet and tart, berries, fruity. Dries out towards the finish.