An apple martini in beer form?

Fruited sours are playful breed of sour beers that is often touted as a beer for non-beer lovers. 

For fans of the drink, the beauty of a fruited sour lies in its approachability. Put simply, it often involves the addition of pureed or whole fruits into beers that are made to be deliberately tart and sweet - balancing (and sometimes even masking) the malty hoppiness of traditional beers. The category also lends itself to quite some variability - with many different craft breweries producing textures ranging from thick and smoothie-like to fizzy and effervescent. 

When it comes to fruited sours, a name that is not to be missed is that of Vault City Brewing, an independent Scotland-based craft brewery that specialised in heavily fruited, sour beers. Since its founding, the brewery has often prided themselves on their decidedly modern take on fruited sours, made with a range of adventurous yet accessible flavours (A paradoxical offering? They think not!). Many of Vault City’s more eye-catching fruited sours (such as their 5th year anniversary release, a blueish-tinged Raspberry Blueberry Bubblegum Bottles Sour, or their dark violet wine-looking Blackcurrant Kir Royale) are so unconventional and novel that they often have old-school beer traditionalists griping about whether such expressions even constitute beer anymore, yet conceding that regardless, they are nonetheless delicious. 

I hate to sound like a positively phototactic insect, but as I sat down for dinner the other day, my eye’s couldn’t help but be drawn to a luminescent (almost glowing) green glass sitting on the table next to mine. It was hardly a colour I had expected to see grace any glass in a beer tap house! This, I found out, was none other than Vault City’s Apple Soor Session Sour Beer. At this point, I’ve heard so much about Vault City’s famed fruited sours that I knew I had to order a pint for myself to try. 

Vault City Apple Soor Session Sour - Tasting Notes

It should be noted that the Vault City Apple Soor Session Sour was released to commemorate St Patricks day, hence the evocative luminescent green tint of the expression.

Appearance: Neon, luminous green. 

Aroma: A sweet bouquet of apple candies and tart sour gummy worms. 

Palate: Very creamy yet effervescent, with a substantial body that still feels very drinkable and refreshing due to a zesty undertone. Just as with the nose, I again get sweet and chewy notes of apple candies, but this time with some touches of cream that reminds me of lime pudding. It's very fruity and flavourful, like an apple martini in beer form. 

Finish: Short, with notes of apple gummies and lime zest. 

Overall Thoughts:

🍏😗

A real solid sour, with a refreshing puckering tartness that's well integrated with sweet fruity green apple notes. It's really easy to drink, and I especially enjoyed the punchy apple gummy notes that are prominent on the aroma! 

Happy sipping! 

@lotusroot518