Cranky Nate Prickly Pear American Sour
Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery

On-tap at pre-DLD Flossmoor Event.

A - Pours a mirky golden/reddish color, cream-colored head.

S - Easily summed up as nail polish mixed with vinegar and cooked vegetables.

T - Way too sour...destroyed my palate. Vegetal...palate wrecker...ugh please no more! Vinegar, nail polish, harsh sharpness.

M - Light body, bubbles for carbonation, ripped of my tongue as the finish.

O - Who knows what happend to this beer. I've had it before it was decent, but this beer is not good at all. One sip and you're done.

 

On tap at the Flossmoor DLD eve party.

Pours murky deep brown with reddish hues and a small white head.

Smells of soft fruits (including pear) and lots of vinegar. A little bit of malty sweetness as well.

Very acetic. Tastes like nail polish remover. The pear flavor comes through a bit, but for the most part tastes like straight vinegar.

A little too much carbonation doesn't help the flavor out any.

Was bummed I wasted liver space on this with all kinds of other world class stuff around. It ended up just being a vinegar bomb and not a very enjoyable beer.

Draft. Sampled at GTMW. Pours a darker caramel color with a light wispy tan head. Really nice aroma with notes of watermelon which I am thinking is the prickly pear as I am not too sure what prickly pear smells like, fruity, some acetic sourness. Medium mouthfeel. The first thing I notice is that this has a nice maltiness to it that stands up to the sourness. Light caramel, fruity, the sourness builds quite nicely, and has a slight bitterness in the end. Overall, pretty enjoyable and turned out to be one of my favorite beers at GTMW.

First (full) pour of GTMW '11, review from written notes.
This was listed as "Prickly Pear" at their booth, as "Prickly Pear American Sour" in the program, and as "Cranky Nate" (a blend?) at the brewpub.

Murky rusty reddish brown in the sunlight, visible fruit particles suspended in the liquid. Ample ring of off white foam, some larger bubbles cluster in the center. Sweet, fruity nose with hints of vanilla, possibly from the barrel. Tart and crisp upfront, and finishing dry like a white wine. Taste was pleasantly fruity and even lightly sweet at times, mildly tannic, with a clean, natural fruit sourness to it. Nice overall balance, it has a mellow feel with lightly spritzy carbonation, very quenching. Style inspiration leaned toward Flanders Red, though "Dark American Wild Ale" fits too. Word on the street is this was one of the last sour ales from the cellar reserve, brewed by Matt Van Wyk & Andrew Mason.

It's like Rosie Pom, but with prickly pears instead. Served in a plastic cup.

A - A finger of light tan foam settles to a thick ring and a few wisps on top, leaving no lace. The body is pretty ugly - a murky brown with obvious sediment at the bottom of the glass.

S - Fruity, tropical brett, prickly pears (yes, I've had them before), light acetic white wine vinegear, oak, some lactic notes, and a bit of sugary malt in the periphery. Quite delicious.

T - Taste is also very good, but doesn't quite reach the level of the aroma. There's more sourness and less funk than the aroma, with a mixture of acetobacter and lactic acidity. Ripe prickly pears appear mid-palate. Lots of oak, and a faint oxidation note as well. Falls somewhere between Jolly Pumpkin and New Belgium in terms of the mixture of wild flavors and oak.

M - Very tannic, likely from both the fruit and the oak (prickly pears are quite gritty). Medium bodied, with medium-low carbonation, moderate acidity, and no obvious alcohol.

D - I think I had three glasses of this one. Not sure why they felt the need to blend this, as it's great on its own. Not quite as good as Rosie Pom, but an excellent wild nonetheless. Manages to avoid becoming to acidic - my stomach didn't hate me this morning.

Edit: I had this one year later and it's basically vinegar now - would make nice salad dressing, but nearly impossible to drink.