Brendan "Watermelon Warhead" Varis, from Feral, told The Crafty Pint a while back that the only element more refreshing in beer than bitterness was the acidity found in well made sour beers. And, as a tiny but growing number of Aussie drinkers begin to explore the world of wild and sour beers - helped by the experimentation of a tiny but growing number of Aussie brewers in this area - we can expect to see more beers that test his theory. The latest is the first sour beer from Temple, the Melbourne brewery approaching the first anniversary of opening its doors. Loosely based on the Berliner Weisse style (using a sour mash, for those who care for such technical details), albeit higher in alcohol content than the style dictates (but still a sessionable four per cent), it's easy to see why it's called Scarlet. The brew made its way through heaps of hibiscus flowers in the hopback before spending time drawing the goodness and colour from an equally large amount of cranberries, resulting in a glowing red beer with the fluffiest of heads. There's a lick of tart lemony sourness to kick your palate into action up front, some soft malt flavours and, as it warms, delicate floral and fruity characters to round things off. It's clean as a whistle, light and refreshing, and is another beer with which beer geeks can confound their mates. And, in fact, with which they can try again to get non-beer drinkers to have a rethink.
Published November 9, 2012 2012-11-09 00:00:00