I remember falling in love with German Weißbier years ago when I first visited Germany. I tried to re-create that experience at home, but could only find its much inferior cousin, the Belgian Wheat. Cue that sad trombone. Perhaps it’s the raw malt in the Belgian stuff, or the way Weißbier is often blended with Sprite or whatever lemon-lime soda on hand to make it extra refreshing. (Try Weißbier with a touch of grapefruit juice. TRUST ME.) Whatever it is, I was a sad panda for years, until my neck of the woods started getting the good Deutch stuff. Or, like Terrapin Beer Co., American breweries started making it themselves. Kanpai y’all!
This beer is A Lot, y’all. Hemp + cherries + Weißbier? Deeeeeam. Get ready, as that hemp comes straight at you as soon as you pop the top. I immediately wanted to turn on some Grateful Dead and change into my tie-dye. But at 4.02% ABV, you won’t be out of your head after one or two of these brews. Which makes it a perfect summer quaff. And that’s saying something, as I typically am not one for sour/sour-ish brews. But more on the sour thing in just a tic.
The head is … kinda pink! I did it, man. Not in-your-face pink, but more whiff-of-pink. The head breaks down pretty fast, with fat bubbles popping it down quickly. The pinky-red tinge of this brew carries over the head’s color scheme, because cherries y’all. It’s a beautiful rose gold color that had me loving it and also getting horror movie vibes. (Midsommar “lemonade,” anyone? Luckily, BrewDog doesn’t put that in this beer.) The nose is a mix of hemp, fresh air, deep woods, with a tinge of sour cherries. Hey, the name of this beer is a mouthful; did I expect anything less from what was in the can?
The taste? Your taste buds will pucker — especially those on the sides of your tongue — but while Gummy is forward with its sour, it vanishes quickly, leaving not a hint of sourness on the road to Tummy-ville. That’s right, there’s a hit of sour that disappears almost immediately after it hits your taste buds. What is this Willy-Wonka sorcery? I’ve no idea, but I dig it. Gummy wakes up my tongue and salivary glands, but leaves my upper GI alone. This is the kind of beer I want to keep drinking, if only to try to figure out what’s going on in my mouth. There’s definitely a party happening, but only the kids that can handle it are invited. My stomach is fine with this.
Pair this with picnic foods — sandwiches, any kind of salad, kebabs, fresh fruit, cookies … or hit up the ice cream man and grab yourself a strawberry shortcake pop. You can also sip it as-is; Terrapin says on the can that it “[p]airs well with festivals.” You could probably even enjoy this over ice, if you’re into super cold beverages. So grab that tie-dye, queue up your favorite playlist, and get to summer-in’.
