Coronado Brewing Company Tropical Darkroom IPA – Sour / Wild Ale at 6.5% ABV (C$4.72 at Collective, 473 ml, packaged on 27-Feb-2020, acquired 14-May-2020, reviewed 22-May-2020)
Appearance: clear straw with one finger of rocky white head, good retention and spotty lacing. (4/5) Aroma: tropical fruit, citrus, lactic tart, stone fruit, hint of coconut. (8/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate tart, low bitter. (8/10) Palate: medium-light body, lively carbonation, short duration mildly tart finish. (4/5)
There’s a lot going on here: it’s hopped with Sabro and Mosaic, with a kiwi adjunct in addition to the kettle souring. I’m generally not a big fan of kettle sours, but here the clean lactic sour works with the other flavours to come across as more of a natural emphasis of the fruit character, than the one-dimensional note that so often manifests. As far as that fruit character goes, the hopping remains emphatically present, if not clearly dominant. Definitely one of the better attempts at the style I’ve had. (16/20)
8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
