Strawberry and coffee aren’t the first pairing that comes to mind, especially not in a kettle sour. However, when you start digging into the caffeinated bean flavour wheel, it’s more prominent than you’d expect. In fact, it’s something well known to Boston’s Victoria Park venue neighbours, Modus Coffee, which has led to this: adding 400 kilograms of local Denmark strawberries and 50 kilograms of Colombian coffee to a kettle sour.
Even with the newly acquired knowledge, there remains a sorcery of familiar flavours that’s wildly intriguing, and keeps the nose returning to the glass. It’s at once fruit-stained cold drip and refreshingly tart beer that feels like it should be poured over ice. Boston’s head brewer Luke Low notes the challenge of balancing the contrasting flavours, yet believes “the winter release has enough flavour, and finishes clean, which keeps you interested.” And, sure enough, it works really well.
Guy Southern
Published June 22, 2021 2021-06-22 00:00:00
