Opened cold and poured hard from a 473ml can into a willi becher. Deep ruby, brilliantly clear, with a pink-tinged head that does not last.
Bellwoods Brewery have built this on pils / wheat with Citra / Galaxy in the kettle. 5.6%, 12 IBU: unremarkable numbers on paper, and the beer is better for it.
The aroma writes a cheque the palate very nearly cashes. What arrives is drier and quieter than the nose promises, and while the finish is clean, a point of the score disappears into the gap between the two.
The whole point of a beer at 5.6% is the second and third glass, and this survives both. There is no cloying edge, no fatigue in the finish, and the hop character stays legible right through. That is harder to achieve than a big beer, and it gets a fraction of the credit.
The fruit was clearly weighed in kilos rather than added from a bottle. Skin, stone and pith all show up, which is the tell: flavouring gives you the sweet part and nothing else.
Against the rest of the wild shelf this holds its own comfortably. It is not the beer that will convert anybody to the style, but it is the one you reach for once the converting is done, and at $7.25 / 500ml it is honestly priced.
Bought at Bellwoods Ossington (in stock at the time of writing). Drink it fresh. Six months in and the hops fade while the acid stays.
Pair it with something salty and eat while you drink. It rewards the company.
