One of the Future Magic team members begged the brew crew to make a beer inspired by her favourite cocktail: Aperol spritz. They did make one… but not before she moved overseas. Oh well. They sent her a photo, at least.
Total Eclipse Of The Tart does a surprisingly good job of capturing the essence of Aperol, while remaining a sour beer in its own right. The key ingredients responsible for the bitter citrus flavours are Eclipse hops and Kveik Voss yeast, and together they give a strong sour mandarin character, with the bitterness of a slightly underripe mandarin and orange peel. There is a some Aperol and bubbly added in the brew, but only a couple of bottles of each in a 1000 litre brew – just enough to capture the attention of Instagram. Having said that, I reckon the Aperol does (miraculously) manage to poke through - the character of the bitterness in this beer is different to the character of hop bitterness alone.
It’s not easy to balance bitterness and sourness, but these guys nailed it.
When we get to Raspberry and Vanilla Sour, it’s far more straightforward. There’s raspberry, and it comes through wonderfully. There’s vanilla, and it smooths things out. There’s lactose, and it provides balance.
‘Nuff said.
Mick Wüst
