Look, Blackstone isn't that bad. I comment all the time about how I was recommended Blackstone whenever I first came to Tennessee over a decade ago, and I have not been floored by their abilities. They aren't producing a string of bad beers, but they aren't even leaning towards great. Instead, the two bars vying for the lead at the bottom of this review are average and not great. That's not where you ant to be as a brewery.
The amber beer is not nearly as red as I expected something with a giant strawberry on the can and a simple description of "ale brewed with strawberries." The head isn't exactly gushing out of the can, but I didn't give it a particularly aggressive pour. I think I may have been distracted, so that's all me. The beer is lacking lacing on the sides of the glass, though, and that's the beer - not me. The aroma contains all the strawberries that the color doesn't. It is tart smelling, and a grain under it seems to bulk it up a bit.First sip is very nice, soft strawberries above the grain malt. The tartness that I smelled is there, but there isn't nearly as much to it as the nose indicated. The strawberries are almost creamy, but there isn't as much sweetness coming from them as you might expect. Instead, it is well balanced and very nice, especially for a Blackstone beer.
Tip-in is mild carbonation tingle while strawberries come with the tartness that was almost entirely missing in the sip. The middle blossoms into an actual beer; grains rise up, and the strawberries become a thin film that barely influences the center of the beer at all. The finish is a resumption of strawberries with slight tartness, and this remains for the trail-off.
Bottom Line: Pretty nice.
3.0/5