Jammin' Berry Vanilla Sour
Brewsters Brewing Company & Restaurant - Eleventh Avenue

Jammin' is cloudy and a deep, raspberry shade of pink. The head is cloudy, strawberry ice cream in color and not as lasting as I might like.

Unlike some fruit beers I've tasted, Jammin' smells like real fruit as opposed to some kind of synthetic fruit flavoring. In this case is smells chiefly of raspberry jam combined with what could easily be blackberries or blueberries, smoothing out and adding balance to the tartness of the raspberries. In the finish the two berries combine nicely to give an aroma that reminds me somewhat of lemonade.

On the tongue, Jammin's body is more full bodied than I expected, bordering on being outright chewy. It tastes so much like good raspberry jam that I'm constantly expecting to be scraping seeds out of my teeth. Flavors of blackberry subtly accentuate the raspberry's natural tartness creating something that is naturally, assertively refreshing without being so tart as to suck my face out the back of my head.

What impresses me most is that it tastes of real fruit. It would be so easy to make a generic beer base and make it taste fruity with a variety of fruit flavorings. Rather, this tastes real. Hence, it's got great mouthfeel and an enjoyable, refreshing presence.