Garage: J Wakefield: Dark Times and Difficult Places (Spain: Berliner Weisse: 6.5% ABV)
Visual: Cloudy strawberry yogurt color. Thin white dash of a head.
Nose: Lightly tart. Black-cherry yogurt. Strawberry. Tart pears. Tart white grapes. Perry. Light creamy cheese and black fruit bits.
Body: Gently tart. Pear flans with sugar dusting. Light wood shavings. Black-cherry. Blackberries.
Finish: Blackberry tart desserts. Pears. Apple pie. A fresh feeling. Pear juice. Crumbly cheese.
Conclusion: Man the 10th Doctor would have hated this beer. Because it really tastes of pears. Now if you are wondering what the hell I am talking about its from a deleted scene (kind of) so is non cannon, but screw it I’m counting it. If you are still confused, don’t worry, I’ll start talking about the beer in a moment.
Anyway, yes this tastes of tart pears. In fact they come in initially deliciously fresh, and then are backed up by a gentle tart air. It contributes to and complements a wonderfully crisp, but oh so drinkable base for this beer.
Over that base is black-cherry, blackberry, strawberry and other brighter and showier fruit. In fact, that reminds me – I haven’t even mentioned how this looks yet. It is wondrous on the eye – a bright strawberry cocktail looking, showy wee thing. It hits the eye perfectly so the visual first bite taken is a happy one. I think I may be mixing my metaphors again.
Anyway, to back up a bit to the first bite ..i mean sip.. taken by the mouth. There is a soft berliner weisse tartness under everything, a gentle alcohol air that keeps it beer tasting rather than seeming just like a fruit juice mix. Subtle, but welcome.
It’s dry, with light oak and even some crumbly, creamy cheese notes that add savoury edges – but the main show is the brilliantly done, natural fresh fruit. My only issue is that I wish that the abv was a tad lower as this is dangerously easy to drink.
An absolutely lovely fruit berliner weisse with a dry attenuated finish matched to a fresh tart middle that means you can drink it for ages. Very much a yes, drink it.
Background: Ok, is it just me, or does that can image remind anyone else of the end of George Bataille “Story of The Eye”? Just me huh. Content warning for anyone who goes to read it after me mentioned it – Bataille is kind of obsessed with transgression in violence/sex/pretty much everything, so it is one serious messed up book. Anyway that is not why I bought this. I bought because so far Garage have been one hell of a great brewery. This is a Berliner Weisse made with pears and blackberry. Drunk after putting a serious session into Dark Souls 3, so I earned my beer. BTW if you invaded and killed someone in Dark Souls 3 over the past week, it may have been me and I hate you. For music I put Miracle Of Sound – Level 9 on to listen to – was still in a bit of a video game mood. Thanks to craft beer sis for giving me the glass used for this photo – seemed just right for such a bright fruity beer. This beer was grabbed from Independent Spirit. Yes again.
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