Hearthstone Brewery Cool Hand Cuke Sour / Wild Ale at 4% ABV (C$3.50 at The Brewer’s Apprentice, 355 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 14-Mar-2018, reviewed 14-Mar-2018)
Appearance: clear pale gold with one fat finger of fizzy white head diminishing rapidly to nothing, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: citrus zest, grainy pale malt, light grass, hint of cucumber. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-low tart, low bitter. (7/10) Palate: light body, moderate-lively carbonation, off-dry crisp tart finish. (4/5)
I wasn’t able to read the date code, but I suspect this is a release from last summer, so it’s possible the cucumber has faded somewhat. Scratch that, I just read a comment from the brewery that indicated there are no hops (!) to preserve this beer, so it almost certainly has changed since canning. That said, I actually enjoyed this as it was, and found it to be crisp and refreshing, reminiscent of a gin & tonic (although the flavours weren’t much like that). I will definitely keep an eye out for new cans of this in the coming summer.(14/20)
7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
