Style: Vegetable sou
Brewery: Connecticut Valley
Origin: USA
Size: 47cl
Alcohol: 5.5%
Price: 43kr
Systembolaget: –
Connecticut Valley has been brewing since 2010, but since 2018 their brewery and taproom has been based in their hometown of South Windsor. They also own a café and roastery, producing their own coffee. Their logo features the F4U Corsair, which is the official designated aeroplane of the Connecticut. This is a strange beer indeed, as it has indeed been made with pickles! This may be one of the strangest beers I’ve found this year, so of course I had to have it in this tasting. Did the sour vegetable notes work, though? For me, not really.
This had a lovely clean golden body with high carbonation and very low head retention. The aroma was massive vegetable notes, which in almost any other beer I would say is a fault. Knowing this has been brewed with pickles though, it seemed to be intended. Brine, pickles and cabbage were all noted in the aroma, with a touch of vinegar to finish things off. The taste was rather unique, and I can honestly say I’ve never tried a beer like it before. The salty pickle notes were at the forefront of the taste, along with a citrus and a funky acidity that creeps onto the palate after swallowing. The aftertaste was pretty short and drying, but not unpleasant.
This beer was strange, I’m not going to lie. I think everyone has to make up their own mind about if they like this or not because it’s almost impossible to explain in words. I’m not the biggest fan of pickles, so this beer really isn’t intended for me, and I don’t see myself wanting to try it again anytime soon. If you do like the salty little cucumbers though, this might be right up your alley!