Review: Revelation Strawberry Plum Pineapple Smoothie Sour


Picked this up at the Quality Beer Store a month back, Revelation Ale Works' Strawberry Plum Pineapple Smoothie Sour, a kettle-soured ale brewed with you get it, strawberry, plum and pineapple and lactose. 

From the label: Our smoothie sours are brewed with Pale & Wheat Malts, and a touch of lactose to add a smooth and creamy body. This batch was conditioned on heaping amounts of Strawberry, Plum, and Pineapple for a sweet, rich and tropical treat. 5% ABV. 

Appearance: Pours like a reddish-pink strawberry jelly, if it were carbonated as there's a lot of carbonation taking place in both the body as well as the head. The head diminishes rather quickly, leaving behind a small sample of lacing on the glass.

Aroma: My expectations for this beer was this was going to be very sweet and creamy but really, it's sour.. I knew it was going to be sour but my expectations of a tropical smoothie made the sourness hit me in the face more than expected. It's got a sour fermented fruit thing going on, a bit of vinegar, a LOT of plum a light strawberry presence and finished off with pineapples. A tad vegetal and decently creamy, let this beauty warm up a bit because it becomes more tropical after moments after opening. 

Taste: Sour with a bit of a red wine vinegar like sharpness to it, immediately dries my mouth. Quite sweet with a moderate tartness from the strawberries, a heavy plum presence and a bit of a smooth pineapple presence at the end. The sour notes linger for a good long while, even giving off a hint of a pepperiness to the beer. Not really noticing the lactose but enjoyable.

Overall Thoughts: I was certainly expecting much more of a smoothie presence up front but it turned out to be pretty tasty. I'm critical of most sours, especially kettle sours but the trio of fruits give it a nice taste to it. I noticed they have other beers in the Smoothie Sour series, so I'll be trying them one day.. if they happen to be available at the Quality Beer Store when I just happen to be in town (which is never).

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