Great Notion Brewerys Squatchbat - Review by: @Robyn_Seto

Welcome back! I’ve officially made the leap into my 30’s, but I still want to keep things fun around here. Beer might be for adults, but that doesn’t mean it has to taste like cleaning chemicals.

Continuing April Sours, Squatchbat Larry is a delightful tart ale brewed with blackberries, boysenberries, and vanilla. This beer is produced by Great Notion Brewing in Portland, Oregon. Squatchbat Larry was originally a Seattle-only release, but has recently made its way to California.

This is a nicely balanced sour. At 8% ABV, there’s no detectable booziness in aroma and taste. There is a distinct tartness of fresh blackberries and boysenberries, but the sourness is reigned in by the vanilla. The vanilla also adds a touch of sweetness and brightens the beer overall. Despite not being brewed with lactose sugar, the vanilla in combination with the fermented flavors of the fruit creates a yogurt-like taste. It kind of tricks your brain into tasting a creaminess while still maintaining a thin mouthfeel. While there’s a lot going on in this beer, it’s quite light and drinkable.

Squatchbat Larry is a creative and interesting take on the tart ale, and does it with simple ingredients. If you happen to find a can of this beer, you may notice that it says “Drink Today!” on the label. That’s not just the brewery trying to push their product, fruited sour beers should not be aged! This is because when fresh fruit is used in the brewing process it provides a lot of sugar for any remaining yeast or probiotic in the can to eat. The result of over-aging a fruited beer will be a very unpleasant sludge at best, and an exploding beer can at worst. So keep an eye on your fruit beers, and enjoy them fresh!

4/5 Burps

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