Hello, and welcome back to the Eternal Hoptimists,
Today John is on a mission to yet again prove that a decent beer in 2024 doesn’t need to high alcohol percentage. In fact this next sour in our Summer Sourz segment, is an alcohol free collab from Mash Gang & Vault City.
This is the third in a six part series based on cocktails, this one obviously emulating the classic French cocktail (made with a measure of crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) topped up with white wine/ Champagne) but will the modern sour stand up to its full fat cocktail counterpart?
- Name : Virgin Kir Royale
- Brewery: Mash Gang X Vault City
- Appearance : Opaque Blackcurrant purple small tight white head when poured
- Aroma: Full and intense blackcurrant with a slightly sour white wine backing
- Body : not particularly viscous in the glass, but surprisingly full in the mouth, quite effervescent for a beer but has poor head retention.
- Taste : Initial hit of strong blackcurrant flavours which dips slightly as the long sour draw kicks in, resulting in a mouthwatering finish.
I admit when I opened this one I thought it might be overly sweet, but was pleasantly surprised by its robust tarty flavours.
I was equally surprised by its effervescent nature when I poured it into the glass too. I mean, I know its based on the cocktail and possibly contains a little champagne but to have that level in a beer that is not a lager was quite unusual for me.
definite a firm favourite of the Ribena and blackcurrant drinkers of the world, i bet Sam and Kayla would have liked this one too, and whats better is definitely a cracking one for the designated driver with it being a 0.5%
John’s overall rating: 3.6/ 5.0
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