We don't drink a lot of sours, Dan and I, which means we review even fewer of them. There is a reason for this, namely that neither of us are all that bowled over by them. However, as the Chinese New Year is upon us, we thought we would ring the changes and open ourselves up to some new experiences, we are going to stop being such bullish devotees to the DIPA and embrace all that the year of the Ox has to offer, tarts and all.
Brewery
Veil Brewing Co
Name
NeverCalm3- Extreme
Style
Triple Passionfruit and Pineapple Gose Ale
ABV
7%
Jack
Having such a hefty price tag (we paid around £13 for our cans) can go one of two ways. Paying a buttload for a beer can mean that you get over excited by the prospect of it to the point that there is just no way it can live up to your expectations, or it can mean you approach the beer with a certain confidence.
Veil's Extreme3 fell into the latter camp. I had no doubt this was going to be a great drink, but I wasn't prepared for how great. This pours like a thin fruit coulis which means it pours about 50 times thicker than any beer I've had in a very long time. This is more like the sort of compote you'd expect to find at the bottom of the dessert on an inflight meal, but you know, actually fucking delicious.
The ABV and sourness are perfectly pitched as far as I am concerned. They are both noticeable on the tongue, but only act to accentuate the exceptional flavours of passionfruit and pineapple that pervade NeverCalm3 - Extreme. If all sours could be like this, then they wouldn't be so divisive.
Score - 4.75
Dan
As soon as this came out of the can, I knew this was going to be a novel drinking experience but also one where you're left questioning if it's even beer at this point or actually some sort of Willy Wonka madcap creation where the hipsters have taken things way too far!!
It was mega thicc, almost pouring like mango slushie and giving off huge whiffs of tropical fruit with mango, papaya, pineapple and passionfruit all prominent.
On the tasting hole, the amount of passionfruit and pineapple purée coming through was frankly ludicrous - it was comparable, I would suspect, to drinking a vat full of liquified soleros whilst intermittently polishing off spoonfuls of the topping on a supermarket-bought passionfruit cheesecake!!
Now granted that might not sound that tasty if sticky sweet 'Um Bongo' flavoured treats aren't for you but I must mention, there was definitely a touch of tart, puckering sharpness on the finish - just enough to let those fruitloops at The Veil semi-legitimately brand this as a sour. However, it undoubtedly leaned towards the sweet side and would possibly overwhelm or even offend sour purists!!
Thankfully, a sour purist I am not and consequently I was enamoured with this innocent smoothie in beer form. It was probably the most playful, fun and obscure beverage I can remember having since having my fateful first taste of Vault City over a year ago!
Is it truly a "beer"... I'm not sold!
Do I give a hoot? Not in the slightest, it's barmy and I loved it all the more for it!
Dan - 4.75
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