Hello and welcome back to the Eternal Hoptimists,
When I collected my Powder Monkey beers for review, we had a great selection between the four of us but personally one stood out as offering something very different. This beer is named Embrace and is a rhubarb and hibiscus sour a collaboration with renowned chef and TV personality Ruth Hansom.
Firstly I was taken with the appealing can design and was drew in even further with the promised flavour profile that suggests that this could be something good…..Let’s see.
1. Name : Embrace
2. Brewery: Powder Monkey Brewing Co. (Gosport)
3. Hops : Not specified
4. Grain : Barley, oats and wheat
5. Aroma : Extremely inviting nose giving off tarte aromas of rhubarb and vanilla. This is a beer that could be sniffed for a long time before consuming such is it’s appealing aroma.
6. Appearance : Pours a hazy light pink almost reminiscent of a natural grapefruit juice with a quickly dissipating head, as every good sour should.
7. Body : Nice medium body with an almost creamy mouthfeel
8. Taste : Very refreshing tarteness rather than face curling sourness. Flavours are of rhubarb, redcurrant and cranberry (from the hibiscus) backed by a subtle vanilla edge that balances proceedings well.
9. Allergens: Contains gluten.
Well, I had high hopes when I saw the can and overall Embrace did not disappoint. The rhubarb and hibiscus flavours compliment each other very well giving off a lovely aroma and a flavour profile that proves very refreshing and extremely quaffable.
Whilst Embrace may not be one of those sour beers that makes your face curl it proves to be a very well balanced beer that has a nice level of tarteness that lead me in to wanting more. For true sour aficionados Embrace might fall a touch short but take my word it is a very enjoyable beer with everything working well together to create a quality brew.
For Powder Monkey’s first foray into sour beers, they have done a good job with Embrace and it is a beer that comes highly recommended. This will be a beer enjoyed for those wanting to dip their toes into the sour waters or indeed for fans of a well-balanced flavoursome beer.
Mark’s overall rating: 3.8/ 5.0
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