- Country: Australia
- Style: Berliner Weissbier
- ABV: 4.7%
- Serving Type: 1,890ml Growler
- Price: Expensive
This past summer I’ve gotten into sours in a big way! Doctor’s Orders make, in my opinion, the best Australian sour on the market in Electrolyte; their Gose. So I have very high hopes for their new summer seasonal; Transfusion.
Transfusion is a Berliner Weiss with a twist, it’s got Rhubarb in it! Rhubarb is possibly the most underrated vegetable around, it’s so good in pies and casseroles etc… but I digress. It’s a traditionally made Berliner Weiss and has had both lactobacillus and brettanomyces added to produce a supposedly tart and refreshing beer. I can’t wait to get into it.
“WOW! Look at the colour! What is that?” The words of a beer novice in my bar when I poured this beer. Don’t adjust your screen contrast that cloudy pink colour is actually how the beer poured! It is one of the oddest looking beers I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a few! The white head on top was made up of tiny little foam bubbles and had little to no retentive qualities. Still on uniqueness alone I’d have to rate this beers appearance very highly.
Over a week after I actually drank this, my memory of the nose is almost as vivid as it was at the time! The nose was, unsurprisingly, sour with grapefruit and a vegetal aroma similar to rhubarb being the most prominent. As the beer warmed it also gave off an unusual salty aroma, which really intrigued me.
Doctor’s Orders mid-summer seasonal for this year is simply sensational! It’s a quintessential Berliner Weiss with rhubarb that has added an extra level of complexity to the beer, while there is also some grapefruit hop bitterness. The yeast flavours are not particularly dominant but are certainly there.
I had very high hopes for this beer and it certainly delivered! For something that is at time bitingly sour, it has a crisp mouthfeel and is remarkably refreshing. This is possibly the most sessionable sour that I’ve come across, with it’s very light but spritzy carbonation making it very drinkable. Dad and I knocked this growler off within an hour… It’s a very very limited release so if you see if grab some.
Remember it’s always Beer O’Clock somewhere in the world!
