Pastry sour

I had it in my head that I was saving myself a stout, maybe a pastry stout, and now that we’re in a trough of relief, it’s time to bring it out. Alas, it is pastry, but a pastry sour. Still, it sounds pretty luscious, and some dark chocolate is involved, so it should work out. No disappointment! It’s Nepo Brewing, which I think I’ve come across before, and a healthy looking selection – Smoothie Bowl Fruit Fondue. Ok, maybe the fondue part isn’t the healthiest, there are several fruits in there, including grapes, unusually. Will this be a happy distraction from the craziness of entertainers leaving us and madmen unable to comprehend geography? Most likely, I’ve been lucky with my beer choices of late.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but the apricot color, full opaqueness and less than exuberant head just make sense once there’s liquid in the glass. The head is snowy white but doesn’t build up, and stays a jaunty little cap for a couple of minutes before dissolving into a delicate ring around the edge. The aroma is hardly beery at all, but very much like a fruit cocktail, heavy on the sour tropical fruit. There might be some old grape in there, not as clawing as in a wine, a touch of pineapple, and the strawberry, but in a preserve, not a jelly. It’s the banana that I’m not getting, or dark chocolate, but that might wait for the taste. Oh yeah, big banana on top of the sip. The other fruits hustle by in the middle, and a soft note of chocolate brings up the rear. It’s kind of a banana split smoothie more than a general fruit one, but I am not very familiar with fruit fondues. Maybe that’s just how they end up when bananas are involved. I’m not sad about this one, it’s a sweet treat that makes up for not being a stout. Now come September…

Supplier: La Buena Cerveza
Price: €6.80