Apparently the fruits of a visit from Brooklyn Brewery‘s brewmaster Garrett Oliver taking a trip West, when he was in the UK a few months ago, this is a 5.2% dry-hopped sour brewed at Lost And Grounded. My experience of the main Brooklyn range tends more to technical solidity rather than jaw-dropping virtuosity, but Oliver is always interesting and their Bel-Air sour was an unexpected stand-out when I was in New York a year or two back. Lost and Grounded have a similar focus on process, unsurprising given the Little Creatures and Camden pedigree of co-founder Alex Troncoso, albeit aimed slightly more at German and Belgian styles. With the Bel-Air in mind, and both parties’ history of putting out dialled-in beers, I was very happy that a can fell into my lap.*

Coming in the increasingly standard 440ml can, it poured a very pale straw, with nice glowing cloudy opacity. The carbonation was significant, with a big, fluffy head unavoidable. On the nose it was light, some citrus, a touch of melon and passionfruit; the wheat in the grist came out on the malt side and unsurprisingly, it’s lightly sharp. As with the pour, it drinks with a very high carbonation, but not unpleasantly so. There’s a light, clean sourness and for a sour, a full mouthfeel, presumably from the wheat and oats. The hops blend in rather than jump out – again citrus over some tropical fruit, with a wheat-y quality coming through. The overall effect is somewhat sherbert-y, sans the sweetness. As hoped, it’s a clean acidity, no acetic mis-steps to be seen.

Satisfying in itself, with slightly more complexity than some other dry-hopped sours, even if the dry-hopping is less overt. It’s clean, tart and good on its own, though I’d be very happy to pair it with a summery menu or something spicy, maybe jerk chicken.

All in all, a very pleasing take on the dry-hop sour.

*Disclosure: this tasting is from a can that was given to me as a free sample.