Bridge Road Brewers Nitro Imperial Blueberry Sour

From Jimmy's Bake Shop Isolation Cake via their Mountain Lager and Robust Porter, the nitro-doser has been getting a solid workout at Bridge Road's Beechworth home. And here it gets a fourth shot in the sort of beer that wouldn't have existed a few years ago and certainly wouldn't have been considered for nitro treatment until recently either.

First things first: while "Imperial", this fruit sour actually sits at a relatively sedate 6 percent ABV. Where they haven't held back is on the fruit, with the blueberries creating a red wine-like deep red/purple hue. The pre-opening shake and hearty pour don't quite create the Guinness / Kilkenny-esque inverted mini-bubble cascade seen in Bridge Road's prior nitro beers, but the nitro softens the beer's character, rounding out any tartness while still allowing the berries to weave their distinctive, slightly funky perfume into the beer's sour side.

James Smith

Published August 10, 2020 2020-08-10 00:00:00