Inbound Pastry Ale: Wildberry Sour

Once upon a time, I was at a certain taproom and they a beer available in crowlers that I chose not to purchase. It was a pastry lager. Yes, a pastry lager. Why was it a pastry lager? Because it was a lager brewed with marshmallows. I chose not to buy and review this beer because it doesn't sound very good at all and because I don't want to think about pastry lagers.

A few weeks back, I bought a can of Fair State's Heckin' Chonker Pastry Stout, and I expressed my opinion about this whole pastry business. You may have read it here.

And now, I have a can of something that Inbound calls a Pastry Ale. It was a gift and I have no choice  but to review it. It is my way. I considered skipping the usage of this odious phrase after having covered it already. Why not pretend it doesn't exist? Imagine a world where a fruited sour ale isn't being compared to pastry for some reason. Is anyone else doing this, or only Inbound? I swear I've never heard of it outside of this brewery. Most breweries call their fruited sours "fruited sours."

Pastry Ale and Pastry Lager and Fuckin' Pastry Stout aren't things, people. Stop it, you're just messing with people's minds, and it's not very funny. And it's making me very sad. I weep for the beer world, people. Sigh...

Now, to drink:

Inbound Pastry Ale: Wildberry Sour
5.5 % ABV. 20 IBU.
Inbound BrewCo, Minneapolis, MN.

Fully opaque, all clouded-up, bold crimson coloring, slim, pinkish head.

In the nose: Very berry, with a pinch of tart. Not a trace of sweetness about.

In the mouth: More sour, more berry. Nicely rounded. Medium bodied, easy drinking. Sour is mellow enough, not to strong, not too tart, and the berries are doing their thing. Rasp, blue, and black all blended up and sent into the sour.

Fruited Goses are all the rage (if they aren't Fruited Berliner Weisses). This one ain't bad. But this "pastry" shit has got to stop.

Our tart Gose brewed with a whole bunch of raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. It’s a sweet blend in a sour ale and everything you didn’t know you needed in a beer.

Blake's Hard Cider Traffic Jam

Blake's Hard Cider Traffic Jam. 6.5 % ABV.
Blake's Hard Cider, Armada, MI.

Clear, bright crimson coloring, no head at all.

In the nose: Nothing but berries, tart and sweet and oh, so fruity.

In the mouth: More sweet than tart at first, and very juicy. Tartness takes over, and it's clean and refreshing. Light bodied, crisp, and quenching. Turns a bit dry, but never strays from the sweet.
Not bad. not great, but not bad.

Inspired by the juicy berries we grow on our farm each summer, Traffic Jam is the perfect balance of ripe sweetness with bold fruit aromatics. Bursting with strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries, this semi-sweet captivates the nuance of our farm, in each and every taste.

Indeed Wooden Soul: Patch Work Sour Red Ale with Mixed Berries

Indeed Wooden Soul: Patch Work Sour Red Ale with Mixed Berries. Wood barrel aged Ale brewed with Blackberries, Raspberries, and Blueberries. Bottled by Indeed Brewing Company, Minneapolis, MN. 7.5 % ABV.

Deep, plummy/reddish-brown color, slim, soon-gone head.

In the nose: Fruity and tart. Jammy. All the berries are up in the nose.

In the mouth: Intense puckering from the start. Blackberries are in the lead. Raspberries peek out. Blueberries, I see you, too. Bursting with fruit and sour. Oak barrel complexities fill it out. Sticks around for a stretch on the palate.

Tasty, tasty stuff. Another fine one in the Wooden Soul line. Keep 'em comin'.

Follow your nose! A melange of fruity perfumes wafts your way, intoxicating with the aromas of blackberry, raspberry leaf, and dusty lemon. Deep red and slightly hazy, with a purple hue, Patchwork plucks you up with perky tartness and handfuls of berry flavor. With this mixed berry sour red ale, the pickings easy. 

I get it. "Patch" is where you pick your berries. Good pun. Yeah....

Rekorderlig Premium Wild Berries Hard Cider

I'm thinking about changing the name of this blog. Mover over Bitter Nib, here comes The Bitter Core. They keep giving me cider, I keep posting notes on the blog. Now, here's one from Sweden. the Abro Bragger of Vimmerby to be exact.

Rekorderlig Premium Wild Berries Hard cider blended with wild berries made from pure Swedish spring water. Serve well chilled. 4.5% all./vol.

Clear, with a distinctive pinkish tint. (Should I not mention the head when writing about cider?)

In the nose: Sweet berries, with a touch of tart. Raspberry, for sure. Strawberry, definitely.

"Best served over ice" the label tells me, "for a crisp, cool and refreshing experience." I'm going to shelve that suggestion.

In the mouth: Fizz. High carbonation. Light body. (Of course, I have to remind myself, aren't all ciders?) Sparkling. Sweet, but not overly, with a slight touch of tart. Easy drinking. Personally, it's doing it for me. Perfectly passable, but not especially remarkable.