I’m writing about this beer called an Imperial Raspberry Sour by Hope Brewery. Hope is based out of the Hope Estate in the Hunter Valley. Sounds like a rather adventurous place, doesn’t it? And just like ‘the Hunter’ this beer is equally as adventurous, and sour. This is what I called this review ‘the hour of sour’ as the sourness went on… and on… and… on.

But, did you know that this wasn’t my first ever sour beer moment, and it’s likely not to be my last (even though I don’t really like these beers too much). I remembered the first sour beer experience I ever had, and it was based off another memory I had when I was just a kid growing up, and when I had consumed (or eaten) my very first sour lolly — you probably know of these lollies (are they still around?) and their quite simply known as WARHEADS. Such is the force of this lollies flavour that they call these things what is otherwise known in military parlance as a thermonuclear bomb (of varying types), so you can probably get the idea on the potency of these lollies (especially if you are a little kid — as I was), and understand how they came to have such names.

When the sour moment first hit me I was a young little boy (around six, or seven from memory), and here I was in the youth of my life trying a lolly which had the ominous name of literally devastating my young little tastebuds into an experience I had never had before — and it left me a little bit scarred, and a little bit surprised that a sweet, sweet lolly could have (of all things) been so, so sour?! ‘How could this be?’ I wondered to myself… Up until this point each and every lolly I had consumed was sweet, sweet candy… sweet, sweet sugary goodness (and I didn’t forget to brush my teeth!)

I’m talking about a WARHEAD of course, and fast forward many years later, and I’m literally standing in the bar of my local pub, and there’s a craft beer on tap that’s (amongst other things) a truly different experience. Why? Because it’s a WARHEAD (just like the lolly), and it’s as sour as literally eating a raw lemon, but with the sour scale turned right up.

But what on earth does a WARHEAD lolly have to do with beer… I’m getting to that! Just give me a sec while I finish the story! And how does this so-called WARHEAD become such a remarkable story you ask? Well it’s because I’m literally standing in this bar, staring at the logo of this WARHEAD-inspired beer, and I’m left remembering the first time I ever met these lollies (all those years ago, in a corner store in my local suburb in the Inner-Western suburbs of Sydney, and after being picked up by my mother from after school care, we went over the road to where that corner store was, walked inside, and my Mum told me I could have ‘one of anything from the lolly counter, and I said ‘anything?” and so I chose the most wickedly looking lolly I could find (of course), and it was a WARHEAD. As my Mum reached in to her purse to pull out one of her crisp paper twenty dollar notes, her look of surprise and astonishment came across her face as she looked down at me, and saw the choice that I had made for the lolly — a ‘WARHEAD lolly?’ Must have ignited some thoughts of reservation in her mind, but with those puppy dog eyes, and with a bit of guilt from picking us up late) she relented and let me have this lolly. Perhaps Mothers really do know best? Because I had tried, and eaten this sour lolly (in the back of the car as Mum drove us all home, and my second-eldest brother ‘dared me’ to try one of these ‘WARHEADS’, and I proceeded to do so, and BOOM the flavour was so intense, and so strong that I just couldn’t handle it (thinking back now I can say that it was a rather apt choice for this lollies name, but a not so ‘apt’ choice for me when it came to my underdeveloped tastebuds — as clearly this lolly was something of an ‘acquired taste’ — and here I was years later thinking that this only applied to things you had when you ‘came of age’, and entered adulthood — drank alcohol, drank coffee etc, but clearly not when it came to this lolly as I was only a wee young lad.

But, as I continued to savour this life changing lolly in my mouth I could no longer take it anymore, so I literally had to take it out of my mouth, and put it back in its wrapper — but I was not done with this lolly just yet, and still believed that I could ‘give it another go’ when I finally puckered up the courage, and the self belief that I could do it.

It was becoming clear that my first experience with a sour lolly had left a really bitter, and rather sour aftertaste in my mouth, and this ‘little lolly’ which packed an equivalent sour experience in my mouth has been scarred into my memory ever since.

But, just like the bitter, and sour lolly I’d consumed all those years ago, the bitter lemon taste coming from the beer was much the same (as the logo had suggested), and the beer was not too dissimilar to the lolly (and this is a beer, and not a lolly blog, after all!) — the beer sour meter had been turned right up to full bore, and I had been left with what the logo of these things had suggested — a thermonuclear-like flavour explosion in my mouth. 

What was also becoming abundantly clear, was that the more this beer had spread across my pallet, the more sour the experience had become — and that this WARHEAD beer was as sour now, as the WARHEAD lolly had been all those years ago. Nothing had changed!

Fast forward on your VCR to 2020 and I’m sitting at home about to drink a beer that’s titled ‘Imperial Raspberry Sour’ and it gets me to a point where I’m (again) questioning at what point does a beer actually cease being a beer? Well that’s a question for another day, and another post, and my focus right now is on this soury brew that has me, and my tastebuds well and truly captive (yet again), as my second ever sour tasting beer (I had sort of avoided them ever since, and politely declined going anywhere near them on the basis that subtlety, and balance are more my thing when it comes to flavours (and yes, beer too!)

But what does a WARHEAD lolly have to do with a largely berry sour beer, after all we’re talking about lemons, and berries, right? (like comparing apples, and oranges) Well, yes, except I’m trying to draw the parallel between the very first sour lolly I had ever consumed, and the first ever sour beer I ever drank, which was also called a WARHEAD sour, and it even had the logo on the beer tap flags to prove it. And so, while not being a fan (initially) of this beer, I am again at a cross-roads of sorts, or a junction point in my life where I’m ‘giving it another go’, and trying another sour beer (yet again), and seeing whether my impartiality to lemon sour beers, is the same when it comes to berry sour beers. There is only one way now to find out, as they say… so, here goes!

There is nothing more unique to this beer. It’s sour, and it’s citrusy, and it has lighter bubbles, which is probably a good thing given its intensity on the palette. It’s truly bold, and yes, it tastes sort of like a WARHEAD lolly, except it’s not a lemon flavour this time, rather it’s a raspberry flavour, and I can taste the absolute bitterness and tartness of the berries. Is it any different to say a lemon flavoured WARHEAD? Well, yes, and it’s probably not as sour (in a citrus sense), so the score on the sour scale is probably a little lower this time, and you don’t have that slight tastebud tingling that you get from a lemon flavoured sour, where it almost feels like there’s a slight yet subtle burn to the sourness. So, the sour is there, and it’s long lasting (after consumption), so it lasts… and lasts… which is an interesting observation, as I don’t normally get flavour lasting this long on the pallet, but in this case its lasted for well over an hour, and this is why I titled this article ‘The Hour of Sour’.  

What would I score this beer out of ten? I would probably give it a seven and a half, purely because it did tick some of the boxes for me when it came to taste, and that the flavour lasted this long on my pallet (tongue), and that’s unique, and rare. Where it lost points for me was where I’ve described it as being a little too sour for my liking, so the other points are really from personal preference, as opposed to anything else.

The beer was quite refreshing, and it was actually a beer I bought at the brewery itself — The Hope Estate in the Hunter Valley region of NSW (approximately 3 hours drive north of the Sydney CBD), and it was what I brought home with me from a trip away as a bit of a souvenir, or memento to remember, and reflect on the area that I’d just visited.

Where can you buy this beer? You can buy this beer online (select craft beer e-tailers), and in some (mostly) independent bottle shops. I say ‘independent’ because the big ‘bottlos’ tend to go with the big brewers, and this craft beer labels (which is fine), however a lot of craft don’t even get a look in through the big chain bottlos in the regions in which they operate. You’re also far more likely to track down this beer when visiting the Newcastle, and Hunter regions of NSW. This sort of goes without saying, but a few people ask why it can be hard to get it, but when it comes to craft beer what I’ve found is that the closer you get to the brewery, the more likely you are to get the beer you’re after. It might even be worth mentioning that you are more than likely to get a beer if you just go direct to the brewery… although I have visited a couple of breweries, and they have actually sold out (on very popular brews), or only brew a set amount, however, this is likely due to the fact that they are small, independent brewers, and that small batches are more their thing (unlike larger, and bigger brewers who tend to operate more on the mass supply of beer — and therefore volume is more their forte).

So how long can you keep this beer for, and how long will it last in the fridge? So I had it in my fridge for a little while (but not too long), and I remember drinking it while watching TV one night, and since I didn’t have anything to eat immediately before, or after drinking this beer I was able to really focus on the flavours to see what I could draw out of it.

This beer is also one of those drinks that’s a bit unique in that you could really only pair it with a fruity, and more berry-like dessert. It’s so much better to have it this way, and having it ice cold too makes all the difference.

The can (or tinny) literally has a whole lot of raspberries all around the can and label, so there is a strong emphasis that if you like raspberries, you’re probably going to like this beer, and it’s rather striking when you’re looking at it from far away, and with the raspberries on a black background (what’s that thing I said about emphasis?) Apart from the raspberries there really isn’t any other graphics on the can, apart of course from the brand mark, and product name.

To really enjoy this beer (I’m not going to lie) you’ll also have to really like sour beers too… so if you’re not up for sour, and tart flavours, then this beer is probably not your thing, and it really wasn’t my kind of beer either (if I’m completely honest).

But, giving this beer a go is also highly encouraged, as some flavour appreciation can be acquired gradually over time too, and what might not be your choice today (necessarily) could become your choice tomorrow, and if you find the right kinds of food to pair it up with, I think it would probably work a little better than just drinking it on its own.

So what goes well with raspberries, and sour ones at that? Just think other berries, and chocolate (to cut through really dark chocolate in particular), and more tart, or even bitter desserts, so think lemon curd, or even dark chocolate ganache, perhaps? But balancing it with a more neutral sorbet, perhaps a mango sorbet, or even a mild coconut ice cream might be good for this, as raspberries really do go better with other fruits, don’t they? I think this beer has it’s qualities, but perhaps I wasn’t drinking it correctly? I’ll have to try it again with a more fruity dessert, and then see if I can balance out some of those more intense, and sour flavours. Perhaps my ‘hour of sour’ was meant to be paired with a fruitier dessert?