Wow. 3.1% ABV. This may as well be water. Yes, I know going in that this is a sour beer, but I am sincerely hoping that it is a background to something better. The thing I want to mention in this introduction is the way cans are packaged these days. I don't know why our six pack handling systems have regressed, but this particular pack (it may have been a four pack) used the common floppy plastic rings at the top of the cans, but the plastic is so flimsy that one of the beers fell out and skidded across the driveway when I was carrying it into the house. Fix your stuff, Steel Barrel!
The reasonably hazy, gold beer produces some very big bubbles that scatter to the winds leaving a patch of maybe 20 small bubbles floating in the middle of the beer like a fig leaf. The aroma is, as expected, sour. Nevertheless, it has a nice, heavy grain with some lemons dangling at the end, so I'm going to maintain optimism right into the sip.First sip is not enough to power through the sour. Fortunately, the dominating sour is very watered down (as is the entire beer) and the grains kind of poke out from under its obstructive countenance. I know there are people who like sours out there, and I get what sour is, but I don't get what makes this good. These beers just aren't for me.
Tip-in is unfortunate sour with grains hiding in the background before the sour overcomes them and brings carbonation sizzle with it. The middle might have some orange and lemon joining the mix, but that watery sourness is all I taste; the water is still helping, but barely. The finish is a flash of carbonation before tartness overtakes the sour, and the fruits join grains for a nice finish.
Bottom Line: I would not like them in a beer; I do not know why they are here.
1.0/5