Jelly King from Bellwoods Brewery in Ontario is an excellent beer in it’s own right; add in blackberry and raspberry purée and you’ve got a winner.
As a base beer Jelly King is an excellent representation of a barrel aged sour. We’re talking about an everyday, juicy, drinkable sour with punchy hop aromatics and fruity foundational flavours. There’s low bitterness and a light body; the beer pours pale yellow in colour, with notes of fuzzy peach, tangerine, and cedar. However, while you can definitely be just fine with the base Jelly King, Bellwoods takes the extra step in creating fruit infusion versions that are absolutely phenomenal. In the past they’ve done plum, pineapple blueberry, apricot, blackberry, blood orange…the list goes on. This season, we’re fortunate to get raspberry & blackberry.
This version is an excellent balance of difficult flavours. First it showcases the aromatic benefits of a generous dry hop (Citra, Amarillo, and Cascade), then they pair that with a 5-strain house blend yeast that produces a pleasing acidity of lactic acid, finally that’s brought together with two years in oak barrels conditioned on loads of raspberry and blackberry purée.
If you ever get a chance to nab some of this excellent beer (in any variety), I highly suggest you do so!
Ale/Sessions 