Sour

I’ve got another local North Carolina beer, this is Granite Falls Brewing Co. Sweet Cherry Falls, 6% ABV. Granite Falls Brewing Co. is in Granite Falls N.C. This is sour cherry ale from Granite Falls Brewing Co.’s Blue Ridge Harvest Sour Series, and is brewed in the winter cause cherries are the deep and darkest of the stone fruits. Sweet Cherry Falls pours a bright magenta hue with barely any head. The aroma is acidic with candied cherry fruit and a hint of a sour note, as it does warm the flavor becomes more medicinal tasting. Taste on Sweet Cherry Falls is slightly sour at first with a clean lactic sourness then steps into a sweet candied cherry tart note.  The mouthfeel is light and sour, with an acidic and somewhat sour yet tart finish. The aftertaste is tart with a faint sweetness.  The tartness does linger a little in your mouth but it’s not overly strong. Sweet Cherry Falls is good but not as rich as I thought it was going be. So it’s C+. I’d like this to be more complex and less candy cherry tasting. I’d like this to have more of a real cherry flavor. It is a bit on the fake side, but not far enough to make it bad. It is easy drinking and has good flavor. But there are not enough good ones though. I wouldn’t run back to Sweet Cherry Falls. I didn’t find this to be overly exciting nor was it terrible. It was average to me. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

This is the second beer from Granite Falls Brewing, from Granite Falls, NC, I’ve had and the first was from the same Blue Ridge Harvest Sour Series, Cherry Falls. This is Boysenberry Falls, 5.5% ABV. Boysenberry Falls pours a deep red color with a three-quarter of a finger pink head that fizzles away quickly with aromas of tart berries with a little sour fruit note that takes you to a tart and sour berry flavor with the faintest sweet note that has a little sourness around it, and finish with a tart yet sour berry not and an aftertaste of sour yet tart notes of boysenberries that linger until your next sip. I can’t really taste how much boysenberries are used in this sour ale, but it the boysenberries in this beer aren’t too overpowering nor do they steal the whole show. This is just an average sour fruit beer, so I give Boysenberry Falls, 5.5% ABV a C. It’s just average nothing really good nor really bad about this beer, and it’s not one I would or wouldn’t recommend. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!   

The popularity of a brewery may be a reason why someone will try a beer. This Ballast Point Brewing Company Sour Wench Blackberry Ale, 7.0% ABV was one beer that yes I tried because Ballast Point is one popular brewery. Sour Wench is brewed with Marion Blackberries, a whole pound of them. Sour Wench pours a deep red color with a one finger pink head that falls into itself as quickly as it can giving aromas of sweet blackberries with touches of tart sour notes that then lead to a sweet and sour blackberry flavor with touches of tartness, but I found more fruity flavor than sour/tarts flavors. Sour Wench finish with a hint of sweet yet tart blackberry flavors with a semi-sweet aftertaste that all has a light mouthfeel.  Ballast Point Brewing Company Sour Wench Blackberry Ale is good without having too much of any specific flavor, I give it a B. It goes down easy but I do see that after three Sour Wenches you may not want another, by then the flavor is just a bit much on your taste buds. It’s enjoyable otherwise and one that I recommend trying. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!   

I picked up another Hi-Wire Brewing beer, this is White Grape Grisette with Sauvignon Blanc Grapes, 5.5% ABV which is added late in the fermentation, and this Grisette is dry-hopped with Citra, El Dorado, and Equinox. This beer brewed with Saison yeast and Brettanomyces.  I purchased this from the Good Bottle Co, 125 Remount Rd here in Charlotte. White Grape Grisette pours a bright yellow color with a two finger bright white slightly foamy head with good retention that leaves behind a little amount of lacing with an aroma of funky green grapes and a faint yeasty Sauvignon Blanc note. Taste is much like a Saison but with a little more fruity flavor with the usually funky Saison yeast note, you get on a Saison. A Grisette is a form of Saison. White Grape Grisette finishes nicely, fruity with a little funky yeast note and has a slightly bitter fruity aftertaste that lingers for a little bit with a medium mouth feel. This Hi-Wire Brewing White Grape Grisette is good and gets a B+. The white grapes or Sauvignon Blanc grapes add another layer to a good beer. I recommend trying this one for yourself. I found it refreshing and easy to drink and I would have this again. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!

Here’s another beer from a recent Brewpublik delivery I received, what a good service. This is Stillwater-Artisanal Insetto Dry-Hopped Sour Ale with Italian Plums 5.0% ABV. Insetto is the Italian word for an an insect. I’m not sure why Stillwater-Artisanal named this beer Insetto, other than it’s an Italian word and Italian plums are used or maybe insects like to eat at plums, you know fruit flies, they like plums and are a kind of insect, so maybe that’s it. Anyhow, Insetto pours a peachy dark pink color with a one finger clear fizzy head with nothing left behind and Insetto has tart aromas of slightly sweet plums, plum juice, and some candied fruit. Taste is pretty much what you read on the can, tart plums with plum juice and a bit of a slight sour note on the back of the mouth. The flavor makes your lips pucker a bit special after each swig. Insetto finishes with a sour yet tart plum and plum juice flavor leaving a tart and slightly sour plum juice aftertaste. This Insetto has a one-sided flavor profile, but it’s not bad and yes it’s refreshing and easy to drink. I give Stillwater-Artisanal Insetto Dry-Hopped Sour Ale with Italian Plums an A-. I am not a huge fan of plum juice, but I do however like to eat plums. I don’t know why that is. This is just to much plum flavor here but that’s okay, I think there needs to be a flavor of maybe some slight hops to cut down the intensity of the juicy plums. But the big plum flavor is not a bad thing; it is just that I don’t think you’d get past two cans of this stuff without having everything else you put in your mouth taste like plums. That’s where I think it falls off just a bit. Insetto is still high at an A-. I recommend trying Stillwater-Artisanal Insetto Dry-Hopped Sour Ale with Italian Plums. Good Stuff! Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!