Imperial Blueberry Tart Sour by Hope Brewery

As I alluded to a few weeks back, Hope Brewery churns out some of the best sours I’ve ever had.  In fact, this will be the third of their sours I’ve written about for this blog (after the Imperial Mango Sour and Sunny Boy Sour).  But I had to write about just one more before I move on to another beer genre from another brewery.  The Imperial Blueberry Tart Sour is too good to not write about.

A caveat to start: this is an excellent sour for people that love a sour.  It’s probably not going to convert any non-sour drinkers.  But for those that enjoy a sour, this is one not to miss. 

The initial taste is extremely tart.  It’s not full-on, face-implodingly sour like the Sunny Boy.  But it is extremely, extremely tart.  You will pucker.  The blueberry flavour also gives it just a hint of a welcome mitigating richness as well.  Sometimes sours can have over-the-top sourness just for the sake of it.  Just like some IPA’s have over-the-top hoppiness just for the sake of it.  The Imperial Blueberry Tart Sour pushes the sourness, maybe not all the way to the edge, but fairly close.  However, the result is still an excellent (albeit very sour) beer, not just an overpowering mouthful of citrusy bite.   

Like the Sunny Boy and Imperial Mango, the Imperial Blueberry Tart Sour has a significantly bigger boozy kick than your typical sour. It clocks in at 7%. But with the strength of the flavour involved, you really hardly notice it.

The flavour is exceptional, but this is also one of those beers that looks almost as good as it tastes.  Take one look at that rich purply-pink colour and you know exactly what type of beer you’re in for.  And thankfully, the taste fully delivers on the promise of that gorgeous hue.

Again, if you don’t like a sour, this probably won’t convert you.  But if you are a fan of a sour (and in particular Hope’s exceptional range of sours) this is definitely one to search out.