Friday 27 October 2017

Heart of Tartness

From Toronto's newest brewery (at least as of September 2017), Northern Maverick Brewing Co., comes Heart of Tartness. HoT is a 5.2% alcohol dry hopped sour beer, brewed, according to the 500mL bottle, with oats to add balance.


The beer is a milky, pale yellow-gold number. It's crowned with a thick layer of pearly white head and has an aroma that vacillates between pungent brine and juicy fruit notes. The flavour is moderately tart, with some sour fruit elements--unripe peach and cranberry to this amateur aficionado--though the label promises pineapple, cherry, apricot, and orange. I can see where they're coming from with cherry, but the others elude me. The finish is quite dry and short, providing the beer with a nice crispness that cut right through a hot late-summer day to provide serious refreshment.

Heart of Tartness is a tame but thoroughly enjoyable sour ale. The strength is pretty good, there is depth of flavour, and it finishes with a commendable crispness. Perhaps not as sour as I'd have liked, nor as hop-focused, but this was a nice beer and I'll gladly revisit it before to long.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

No comments:

Post a Comment