Building on the success of last year’s Frosty Fruits, the WA collaborators behind it were keen not to repeat themselves. Loosely starting with the same "Summer Sour" concept, this iteration from Cheeky Monkey, Chi Cho Gelato and Mane Liquor arrived at an untested combination of yuzu and blueberry as a result of the consistently unique offerings from the gelato artisans. From this point, Cheeky Monkey’s sales manager Brendan Day, ignoring requests for more restrained fruit levels requested by the brewing team, eventually sourced 60kg of blueberries and 18 litres of highly expensive yuzu juice for the 1,000 litre batch.
A stunning ruby colour in the glass, yuzu lemon and sherbet aromas tease first, characteristics that continues through tasting, where a curious earthiness appears as the blueberry comes into play. Although described as an "intense citrus tang", Bluzu delivers far more approachable perceived pH levels, perhaps a result of the low carbonation – this is a more refreshing than puckering acidity. The fruit combination remains in balance throughout before a gentle blueberry skin tannin makes an appearance at the end.
Guy Southern
Published November 21, 2018 2018-11-21 00:00:00