Maltgarden seem to have found a niche (at least for me) with these pudding sours. If you missed the first one they did – Don’t Let Me Go – I’ve got some that I’m going to put up on the Extra Beers page.
For anyone not familiar with the term ‘pudding sour’, it’s the same as the ‘fruit smoothie sours’ we’ve started seeing from a few Australian brewers. They really aren’t sour at all, just tart from whatever fruit is added, with the lactose giving that thick body and sweetness.
The malt body of this beer is made from a combination of barley, wheat, oats, flaked oats and wheat flakes. To this is added banana and passionfruit. And the lactose.
Straight up the beer is sweet, strongly of the banana and lactose though it isn’t quite so up front in the aroma. Then the passionfruit chimes in, giving the tart counter to that early sweetness. The body sits heavy on the tongue, leaving a coating of the flavours to chew on after the beer is gone. This is where I get the cheesecake taste.
They are clever beers, really well balanced and flavoursome and just that little bit of a surprise. A word of advice if sharing this beer: it pours very differently from start to finish. Most of the thickness is in the bottom of the can, so be sure rotate your pours if sharing. If having it all yourself, there is no such worries!