Fruit sour – Let's Learn Beer!

say it three times

by Ceit
August 10, 2025August 9, 2025

Although I am not the biggest fan of sours, sometimes something in the ingredients, or the name or the label convince me to pick one up. This is one of those times. It’s Pyrene, a reliable brewery, so good start. And it’s covered in creepy monsters, so another point in its favor. And finally? Those monsters come from … BEETLEJUICE! No, I won’t repeat it twice more, I need to get down to drinking.

It’s leaping to escape the can, so much that it can’t even ruffle up a good head for itself. It does fizz so it kind of lean towards a soda more than a beer. The typical sour gassiness comes off it when you take a sniff, but it’s a very faint aroma this time. While it has good color, it’s almost pastel peachy, not a saturated red or pink. It has a delicate flavor, sweet, a little melony and strawberry, kind of a shaggy texture, but not spikey. This is very much a summer drink at first sip! It stays consistently fresh-fruity, not going sour, bitter, or syrupy. A very enjoyable sour, if I do say so myself. It’s a good choice on days when the street is like an oven, in triple digits Fahrenheit (a little more impressive than the double-digit Celsius measurements).

Supplier: Lambeer
Price: €6.50

back to basics, of a sort

by Ceit
May 24, 2025May 17, 2025

Beeeeeeeermad is here! I waited too long to pick up a ticket, so can’t go today. I’ll be there tomorrow morning, though, bright and early. Relatively. It’s probably a good sign; last year there was practically nobody at the gate when they opened on Saturday, although things picked up later on. You’ll have to wait until next week to here my fair details, so here’s just the usual solitary taste.

I don’t remember why I picked up this beer, maybe as a contrast to those pastry stouts. Also, since it’s Basqueland, a guaranteed good drink. I always think I’m really going to enjoy a fruited sour, even though past experiences have been mixed, but there must be some kind of unkillable hope living deep in my palate. I happily accept them when recommended and pour them out nervelessly. Then the smell is a little sewery, or the taste isn’t quite as balanced as expected, or the beer feels spikey instead of like a liquid for drinking…well, I guess I have had more pleasant experiences than unpleasant ones overall, and especially with Basqueland. This one is simply called Strawberry Lemonade. Why dump in unnecessary complications?

It looks berry-ish, not especially bright, but more natural that way. While not exceptionally bubbly, it does look thick, and produces a nice layer of head. It’s not a very aromatic beer. I struggle to pick out clear scents, there does seem to be a little bit of fruit, although if I didn’t know there was strawberry I wouldn’t think of it. There’s the tiniest whiff of gassiness that often comes with fruit sours, but not much. Flavorwise, it is sour as advertised, although it’s kind of a generic sour, not linked to any particular fruit. I guess it has a natural lemonade feel to it, without a lot of sugar to tempt the less mature drinker. It also has a certain dryness on the palate, not leaving a tingle or stickiness that candy sour might have, this is a little more sparkling wine-esque. I think I appreciate that, I don’t need to feel loaded down these days.