Keep it fruity

Summer's (almost) here and the time is right for sour beers with some fruit.

"Limoncello sour" is the offer on the label of Wicklow Wolf's Bittersweet. This is 3.8% ABV, brewed with lemon and lactose, and pale hazy yellow. As always, I took it out of my not-too-cold beer fridge, and that might have been a mistake. While it was far from warm, cool doesn't suit it, making it feel thicker and jammier than it ought to. Probably to be expected given the lactose, it tastes mostly like lemon curd, and can only make the woolliest of claims to being sour. It's barely even bitter. Half way down I decided to add ice, and honestly I think it improved it. The flavour became less blurry, more spritzy, although less beery as well. I suppose that with "limoncello sour" it's unsurprising that it would taste quite like an alcopop. As such, it's a nice and undemanding summer drink, but it doesn't press the beer buttons. And doesn't even know where the sour buttons are. I'm unimpressed but I see what they were trying to do.

Galway Bay, meanwhile, is back on its Catharina sour kick. I was delighted because they've all been magnificent so far. Lolla is the new addition, 5% ABV and including blackberry, raspberry and yuzu. I'm guessing it's the blackberry which gives it the dense maroon hue. There's a certain jamminess to the aroma, but light and tart with it, not sugary or syrupy. Indeed, the texture is appropriately light: gently sparkling and very refreshing, making one wonder why anyone ever thinks to bring lactose into a picture like this. I haven't eaten enough yuzu, or any yuzu, to know how much of its character is on show, but there is a certain citric quality, matching a subtle underlying sourness. I'm very happy to report that it doesn't just taste of common or garden berries, and that's an achievement because neither raspberry nor blackberry are usually shy about their contribution. Here, the brewer has put some manners on them and they show polite restraint, giving us a third dimension of tartness. While I definitely prefer the more full-on tropical versions of this style, this one is still very good, and absolutely perfect for the season.

If any of this takes your fancy, make haste, because the current sunny spell may not last much longer.