Fruit Cup Vol. 3

Fruit Cup V3 by Pontoon Brewing was judged as a 29A Fruit Beer with a base style of 23A Berliner Weisse. Berliner weisse beers are commonly served with sweet syrups (raspberry, woodruff or lemon). This beer pours a slight hazy garnet color with a small reddish-white head of tiny bubbles that fades quickly. The aroma is of medium cranberry, a hint of citrus and a hint of wheat bread. There are phenolic spicy hints – maybe cinnamon, mace and allspice. The flavor is medium cranberry, with hints of passion fruit and orange and a fairly tart sourness that is clean and lactic. Very low floral character, low grainy wheat, no detectable bitterness and a very dry finish with a slight tannic astringency is present (possibly from real fruit). The lactic sourness is clean and seems fairly simple without that much depth or complexity. There is a low level of spicy phenolics, cinnamon, clove and black pepper that might come from added spices, or maybe a little bit of Brettanomyces in the fermentation (which is OK for the style) that adds some interest and complexity. Medium-high carbonation is appropriate for style and gives the beer a champagne-like quality. I’d like the fruity/citrusy notes with some pork chops with a honey-based glaze that contrasts with the dry/tart/fruit of the beer.