Oops! All Berries Kettle Sour
Ellicottville Brewing Co.

 

This is relatively solid. Not the best definitely better local sours in your area im sure. Definitely a decent brew though but cant say I was overly impressed.

I keep venturing further & further from my CANfort zone & people are beginning to wonder if I have become a Tart/Sour fiend. Perish the thought! I really CAN't live without the bitterness of hops, but The CANQuest (tm) has the helm & the conn & takes me where it wants to go, not the other way around.

From the CAN: "Oops! All Berries Kettle Sour"; "Ale brewed with Blackberry, Raspberry & Blueberry with local farmers Blueberry Treehouse Farm"; "Tart & Juicy Kettle Sour, reminiscent of a wild berry patch"; "Brewed with fresh fruit from local farmers The Blueberry Treehouse Farm West Falls, New York"; "Est. 1995 Brewed to Entertain".

I Crack!ed open the vent & beCAN a heavy-handed, aggro C-Line Glug into the awaiting glass. I was rewarded with the formation of two-plus fingers of rolling, roiling pinkish head that resembled freshly-spun cotton CANdy. Sadly, it evinced low retention & quickly fell to wisps. Color was a deeply-hazy/lightly-cloudy Ballerina-Carnation Pink (SRM = N/A). Nose was mildly tart with a mixed berry scent like the jelly that you might get with your toast at a diner. It was impossible to parse the various fruits, but I will say with CANfidence that I did not smell strawberry in the mix. Raspberry, definitely and almost equally assuredly, blueberry. Mouthfeel was thin & watery as this style generally tends to be. The first thing that registered was its intense tartness! Phew. My lips were puckered tighter than if I had licked powdered alum! Not sour, just really tart. Once I adjusted, the fruit flavors really became assertive, especially the raspberry. The blueberry was more subtle and kind of relegated to a supporting role. I'm still unsure about blackberry. It was definitely fruit-driven, though. Finish remained tart & the beer was semi-dry overall. The tartness, the fruitiness & the relatively low ABV all added up to something that might be really refreshing & thirst-quenching on a hot, humid Summer's day. YMMV.

 

 

Having this beer on-tap at the brewery. Served in a glass that’s like a cross between being a tulip and a snifter, this beer draws a deep, but bright amber red color with a nice white head that’s about half an inch thick when first drawn and served. Settles eventually to a medium sized ring lining the inside of the glass. Not really any lacing or surface foam here. Aromas of some bready malts along with fruity esters of raspberry, blueberry, and blackberry along with slight funk notes. Has a bready malt flavor followed by the aforementioned fruit flavors that give this a nice sweet and tart flavor with just a slight sour note and a hint of salt. Has a mostly crisp, also smooth, light to medium bodied mouthfeel with moderate light to moderate carbonation. A very refreshing beer on this summer day. Has a clean, slightly dry finish. A very nice take on this style.

Eric