Today’s review is from a completely new brewery for me, Gweilo. Originally based in Hong Kong, they often have collaborations and partnerships with UK breweries such as Vocation or Brew York to help bring their beers to the people of Britain. The name Gweilo comes from a slang term in the Cantonese language, meaning ‘white ghost’, but is often used to reference westerners in Hong Kong.

I’ve had this ‘Rainbow Sherbet Sour’ kicking around for a little bit, but considering the funky nature, never found the ‘appropriate’ occasion. I eventually realised, of course, that beer does not require a specific planet to be in retrograde and can be safely consumed at any moment. This classic sweet inspired brew, comes in at light 4.5% ABV.

The beer pours fairly clear with a copper hue and a rather fluffy, white head. The nose hits you with a strawberry or raspberry syrup hit, which is rather enticing. The first sip greets you with a zippy, punchy sourness which mellows down after subsequent drinks. There are initial fruity notes on the front end that mirror the aroma before heading into a lemon, citrus sourness on the finish.

A quick note on the can design: Simple yet effective. The whole can wrap is covered in rainbow laces and certainly catches your eye when it sits on a shelf. No need to get philosophical and artsy with this one!

An interesting aspect about this beer, that I discovered while researching for this review, is there is a separate version of this beer available for the Australian market. Same name, same style, different ABV. This UK version is 4.5% ABV while the Australian is 6%. On the whole I thought this was a decent sour with a solid balance between the sweetness and the tartness, giving a fair shake at emulating the iconic sweets it is based off. That said, I did feel it was missing a certain level of depth on the whole and I wonder if the additional alcohol of the Australian version, cranks up the dials on the flavour. Equally, it could simply be a personal preference in my taste in sours and enjoying a more fruit forward sour, rather than a kettle sour like this. On the whole a refreshing, easy drinking sour that I’m certainly glad I tried!

Score: 6.5/10

Sour beers are divisive in general, however this goes further with the large variety of sour beers now available from different breweries. Do you prefer yours light and zippy or sweet and fruity? Or a different way completely. Let me know below! Cheers and thanks for ready.

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Additional Information:

Style: Fruited Sour

Hops: None

Malt: Not Available

IBU: 10

ABV: 4.5%

Gluten Free: No

Vegan: No

Location: SPAR Chatsworth Road

Price: £4.75