Weyerbacher Tarte Nouveau

The other day while I was working at the beer store, someone brought in this tiny, adorable little half growler. I had never seen one before. It was cute, practical, and I had to have one. Drinking a whole 64 ounces (half gallon) of beer in one night requires effort, but a 32 ouncer? That I can do. But I've never seen one for sale in Utah. Lucky for me, I'm in NJ and PA is a short 8 minute drive. I took a stroll by my old hometown brewery Weyerbacher today, and what did they have? That's right - child sized 32 oz growlers. I grabbed one of those along with a few bottles to take home, and scurried off with my treasures. 

Here's how she tastes...

Weyerbacher Tarte Nouveau Kettle-Soured Beer

BG Poured from an adorable 32oz (¼ gallon) growler into a stemmed tulip glass, 3.9% ABV, fresh from draft, consumed 8 hours after the growler was sealed

A Golden in color with a slight haze. No head, but a tiny ring of fuzz clings to the edges of the glass. The growler seal may not have been very tight. 

A Ripe peaches, tart, wheat, concord grape juice, lactic acid, lightly sweet, peach rings

T Tart, lemons, mild sour patch kids. It has a very light fruitiness (apples, peaches, pears, coconut), but no one fruit in particular, and it’s very subtle. There’s a wheat graininess on the finish.

M Tart without being puckering or mouth drying, no astringency, almost a little slick, very smooth. Low carbonation, but that’s due to a poorly sealed growler. I had it on tap earlier, and the effervescence was quite nice!

A Very light wheat, a little bit of lemon

C If I was day drinking in the summer, this would be my go to. It’s incredibly light and refreshing. It’s a shame the carbonation didn't hold up over the past 8 hours. This makes me want to grab a lawn chair, an umbrella, and a good book, and go sit outside in the sun sh--oh yeah… it’s 12 degrees in NJ. I look forward to Utah’s unusually warmer winter weather! I’ll have to look for a kettle sour like this one over there, too. 

FP Grilled lemon ginger tilapia with asparagus and clarified butter. Tortilla chips with homemade pico de gallo and guacamole. Sugar cookies with lemon icing.

To anyone who might consider buying - or regularly buys - growler fills, beware! It's in your best interest to check that seal as soon as it's in your hands. Give it a good twist and make sure that baby is tight! And if you go for regular fills, you might even consider a better container than the traditional glass jugs with a twist cap. They're much better than walking it home in a pale like the old days, but they're far from great. Be kind to your beer, and your beer will be kind to you!

And for those of you who read my last post, I've got an update on that mystery 12 pack I bought. I mentioned that there were one or two in there I thought might taste like doggie doo doo, and my thoughts were true. The Saucony Sessions Ale tasted like grapefruit juice and orange juice poured into an unfiltered wheat ale with a distasteful amount of citrusy hops. Nothing was in balance, and I dumped the rest of the can. I was kind of surprised by that one, because I thought it would at least be drinkable. The other beer I tried (right after the Saucony failure) was the St. John Brewery Tropical Mango. It was predictably sweet, fruity, and gross. I dumped that one too. I have high hopes for the rest of the pack, though! I'll keep you all updated.