When they released these two beers, Sunday Road posted the following on Facebook: “There are two types of people on holidays: the party animals that love dancing and those who want to chill and lay on the sand. And yeah, we are definitely both.”
I’m definitely the second. When I heard about friends-of-friends who went on holiday and visited three beaches in four hours (including two hours of driving) I got tired just thinking about it. I would have been the buzzkill who laid out my towel at the first beach, cracked a beer, and said: “See you in four hours.”
But if Summer Samba Sour is the beer I’m drinking on said beach, I’m not going to be snoozing in the sun any time soon. While the relaxed lightness of summer exudes from the sky blue (literally) and flamingo pink (literally) on the can, the watermelon pink of the beer itself and the sour zap from the first sip are enough to wake you up and sling you into party mode. The Philly Sour yeast strain and berries come together to bring a real zing of acidity, with a just a whisper of vanilla coming late to the party. This tastes like drinking an inflatable flamingo – or at least like drinking the kind of excitable and optimistic person who brings an inflatable flamingo on holiday with them.
On the other hand, for a lie-on-the-beach-and-hope-you-don’t-get-sunburnt person, Beneath The Palms Mango Oat Cream IPA is the chill out beer that’ll keep you comfortable. To start with, it pours the exact same colour as the can, which is extremely satisfying. (As is drinking from a tulip glass on the beach while everyone else is drinking from cans like plebs.) Then a thick wash of mango, pineapple and stonefruit (presumably from the fruit, Bru-1 hops and Sitiva hops respectively) leads the way before a laid back bitterness balances out the sweetness. Just try not to fall asleep before you finish drinking it.
Mick Wust
Published December 16, 2021 2021-12-16 00:00:00
