Phillips Brewing Company Thorny Horn Sour Raspberry American Brown Ale at 6.8% ABV (C$7.95 at Sundance Wine Market, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, reviewed 21-Jan-2016)
Appearance: red-tinged amber-brown with a short very light purple head, good retention and no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: tart raspberry, pale malt or honey, light earthy funk, maybe a hint of cherry. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate tart, light bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium-light body, moderate-high carbonation, crisp tart finish. (4/5)
Jammy raspberry and lacto sour complement each other pretty well. Any brown ale character left in this is completely overwhelmed by the raspberry and lactic – which is by no means a criticism, because very little is more boring than a plain old brown ale (except maybe an ESB). Overall, a fairly pleasant, if one-dimensional (OK, two-dimensional) light sour that could be a good introduction to the genre for a neophyte. (13/20)
6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
