Basant

ARTWORK BY SASKIA JAE SINGER

PASSIONFRUIT & TAMARIND SOUR
6.2% ABV
SEASONS CHANGE

In the darkest depths of a Glasgow winter @fresh_n_fruity_glasgow, Southside's finest grocers, had some delicious ripe tamarinds on the shelf and that was it, I was hooked. Combining the tangy-sweet pulp of these funny wee peanut-looking pods with passion fruit was a real treat. The sourness of each fruit complemented the other. Passion fruit pulls you in an exotic direction while the tamarind balances the puckering sensation with a sweetness that is almost chocolatey. 

Anyway, it got me inspired and reminded me of my Grandad, who grew up in the Punjab, and used to take me out for sweet Indian treats, lassis and the freshest fruits from his local green grocers... Hence the name! ‘Basant’ is a Punjabi Springtime kite flying festival that celebrates the coming of Spring. Saskia Singer's stunning artwork is reminiscent of a swirl of kites too. Not sure if she intended for this to happen!

In style this beer is a fruited Berliner Weisse with added oats for body and a higher proportion of barley to wheat for a higher ABV. It’s naturally soured bringing the pH just below 3.9 before firing up the kettle. This allowed the fruits to bring more tartness later, giving us a beer of 3.16 pH in the end. That's pretty sour! 

The tamarind was added sparingly to give the beer its golden orange colour. It’s all passion fruit on the nose and in the initial taste. The tartness of the fruits is integrated nicely with the sharp sourness of the beer giving the palate a zingy punch upon first sip. The puckering sensation, however, isn't overpowering. As it mellows a sticky-sweet and nutty flavour from the ripe tamarind arises, eventually giving way to a medium dry and vinous finish.