Most of you have never seen an actual Panther Creek beverage at your beer store. I don't know if they have changed their practices yet, but when I had my first beer I was told that they do not distribute outside of the county. I'm not sure if there is some legal impediment or if they just want to be hyper local, but their beer so far has been outstanding. It might be that the hyper local nature of their operation means that I always get fresh beer, or it might just be that they're that good. Let's add another beer to the list, and let's hope it's that good.
There is a slight haze to the wheat-colored beverage. The off-white head is not particularly exuberant, and it fizzles down to a very thin patch in the middle of the beer and a slightly stronger ring around the sides. There is a suggestion that it might make some lacing, but I'm not going to hold my breath. The aroma is quite inviting with berries featured quite prominently and a sweetness that is almost tart. Maybe it's just both. Either way, it makes me want to drink this beer.First sip is both good and striking. The berries and lemons are mixing very well together, but they don't come until the back end. The front end harbors grain and tartness that quickly gets swallowed up by the sweet strawberries. As a sipping beer, this would go fairly well. On the can, they suggest that this is a perfect beer for these last warm days of summer. On the day that I'm reviewing this, it feels like it's going to be one of the last warm days, and so far it's pretty enjoyable. This might even have been good on a very hot day when I need something to quench my thirst. I have found that most of these fruit beers are good at the quenching part of a drink, but let's see how this one does it a full swig.
Tip-in is mild carbonation tingle with grains, grass, and the tips of strawberries nestled in a bit of a tart tang. The middle turns up the carbonation, but the smooth fruit juices have combined with subtle hops and a just about perfect malt to produce a fruity and quenching beverage that stands on its own. The finish is a wash of tartness from the lemons mixing with bitterness from the hops as a lemon zest hangs on for the trail off.
Bottom Line: The fact that Panther Creek is not distributed more widely is a crime.
4.5/5