Poured at 6°C from a 750ml bottle, split across two wine glasses. Deep ruby, brilliantly clear, with a pink-tinged head that does not last.
Blindman Brewing have built this on pils / wheat with Hallertau in the kettle. 5.8%, 12 IBU: unremarkable numbers on paper, and the beer is better for it.
The pour is the highlight, and that is not nothing. What follows is competent and a touch anonymous, the sort of beer you finish without forming an opinion about.
The whole point of a beer at 5.8% 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 $13.00 / 500ml it is honestly priced.
Bought at Alberta bottle shops (in stock at the time of writing). Serve at 8°C. Colder and the fruit closes up.
Pair it with something salty and eat while you drink. It rewards the company.
