23 May, 2013

Hitting the Books: Well Read Temptress from Pipeworks



Well, we had a brief spell of warm weather before spring asserted itself again. Luckily I managed to get in some more Berliner Weisse drinking before the chill and rain took over. Earlier this month it was Blue Lady. This time we have Well Read Temptress, another Berliner Weisse from Chicago's Pipeworks. Often times folks add Waldmeister (woodruff) or Himbeere (raspberry) syrup to Berliner Weisse but here the beer has been aged on fresh raspberries which adds a nice twist.

Temptress pours cloudy just like its blue sister and is a pretty light pinkish red. I got some nice foam atop it all but the stuff dissipated fairly quickly. There weren't a lot of bubbles visible in the glass which is very deceiving. The beer smells like summer. Its heavenly aroma has fresh raspberries first and foremost followed by a bit of the sourness.

Like the aroma, raspberries are the first thing you taste. My big complaint with Blue Lady was that the blueberry flavor wasn't prominent enough and I'm happy to report that Well Read Temptress doesn't suffer this same fate. The raspberry is more plentiful here though not overpowering. It shares your tongue with the lemony tartness well. The lactic acid provides just the right amount of tartness for me. You can't miss it but it is also not going to make you pucker so much that you permanently distort your face. And as with Blue Lady, breathing in while drinking enhances the berry flavor. The mouthfeel is light and, while you can't see much in the way of bubbles, you can certainly taste the carbonation. It finishes with a smooth, lingering sourness.

I adore Well Read Temptress. It was nice to taste that Pipeworks got the perfect amount of raspberry into this beer to balance the tartness. It is 4% ABV which is quite sessionable and is wonderfully refreshing.

Junk food pairing: Go with sour cream and cheddar kartoffelchips.

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