Style: Folk sour with passionfruit, lime and salt
Brewery: Fermenterarna
Origin: Sweden
Size: 44cl
Alcohol: 3.5%
Price: 55kr
Systembolaget: (Glasbanken)
This is the 39th tasting I’ve held and it’s strange, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a folköl (3.5%) in a tasting! This wasn’t on purpose though, there just never seemed to be one that caught my attention until now. When I was searching for weird beers for this tasting, I wanted a green beer if possible, as they are so rare and look so unique. I was so happy when I found this, and I knew I had to have it in the tasting. Founded in 2018 by Niclas Aronsson och Anna Claesson in Strömstad, Fermenterarna are known for their distinctive cans. They have now expanded and moved to Gothenburg. This folköl is brewed with passion fruit, lime and a hefty dose of salt. The main sour beer style with a distinct salt edge is gose, a type of sour originating in Gosler, Germany in the 13th century. The green colour I presume is from the lime skins, but this is to be confirmed as finding information about this beer was extremely hard. But was this strange beer any good? It was indeed!
Lime green in colour, this beer had hardly any head form when poured and seemed to have quite low carbonation on appearance. The aroma was impressive, with tart lime and zingy passion fruit notes leaping from the glass. The raspberry pulled through in the taste strongly, couple with a zestiness that puckered the lips. A long aftertaste lingered on the back of the throat, with a pleasant acidity balancing nicely with the fruity sweetness. The beer needed to be poured or shaken slightly before serving, as there was a massive difference between the sharper taste at the top of the can and the thicker, sweeter bottom.
This was a very clean and easy to drink sour, with Fermenterarna doing exceedingly well to pull such a big taste from a 3.5% beer. The only negative for me with this was the price, as 55kr really is too much for what you’re getting. Apart from that though, I really enjoyed this and look forward to trying another can sometime in the future.