Rating: 5.5/6

Tropical Platypus by Almanac Brewing is 6% ABV American Wild Ale Dry-Hopped Sour Ale Aged in Wine Barrels with Kiwi, Mango, Lime and Passion Fruit.

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION

This special tropical ale is brewed in celebration of City Beer Store’s 10th Anniversary. Inspired by their adorable Platypus mascot, this equatorial sour blonde ale is aged in used wine barrels and oak foeders with an array of tropical fruits. We selected barrels with fruit-forward characters, and amplified those notes with the addition of kiwi, mango, lime and passionfruit. We tied the whole blend together with the addition of aromatic Galaxy hops from New Zealand. The finished beer is a tropical explosion, worthy of our duck-billed inspiration. Pair with celebratory anniversaries, pupu platters and white sand beaches.

When Almanac was in its infancy, City Beer Store was already a craft beer institution in San Francisco. They constantly fought for the craft beer industry and provided a home for new breweries looking to make a mark. In fact, they were the first to sell Almanac’s beer. This beer honors 10 years of providing a home for craft beer.

==Introduction==
Obtained this one from Craftshack.com along with other great beers. This one intrigued me because I made a tropical IPA with similar ingredients and trying this may give me an incite as to what to expect. The brew is a small bottle as with many of Almanacs delicious beers but with that being said, I will be taking my time analyze this one as I do with others but more importantly, try to take some flavors that may relate to my homebrew that will be ready in sometime in July 2016. The mix of fruits sounds so damn delicious but as a sour, I will have to see if it can compare to other sours I have had in the past. Let’s take a look. Cheers!

Aromas:

Tropical fruit kiwi, pineapple, mango, guava, dragon fruit, margarita notes, lime peel, lemons, limes, white wine grapes, passion fruit, stone fruit peaches, apricots, banana hints, clove hints, coriander hints, vanilla, oak, floral hop notes, lavender, cane sugar, chardonnay, peppercorn and wine grapes.

Flavors:

Rich Stone fruit peaches, apricots, sour apples, tropical fruit kiwi, pineapple, mango, passion fruit, dragon fruit, margarita notes, lime peel, lemons, limes, white wine grapes, concorde grapes, chardonay, peppercorns, waffle cone, cranberries, dark cherries, citrus, grapefruit, grassy, mild pine, floral and earthy hops, tangerine gummies, vanilla, oak, caramel, banana hints, clove hints, coriander hints, lavender, hibiscus hints, guavas.

Aftertaste:

Finishes dry with minor hints of tropics, limes, lemons, stone fruit, wine grapes, grapefruit, citrus and dank hops and sour funky notes. No alcohol in the taste. Hazy Pale Straw body, Crisp, refreshing and effervescent mouth feel with an easy drinkability.

Overall:

A very awesome and very exceptional sour showcasing so much tropical goodness. This is one of the best sours up there with the great ones I really love. The beer does shows a lot of flavors which I would definitely wanna see in my beer as it is supposed to be a tropical fruit IPA. However, this being a sour and oak aged is super well balanced and made. The balance of tart and sweet comes together very nicely. I highly recommend it if you love sours and especially dry hopped tropical sours.

Anime Corner:

Marino from Megaman X Command Mission was chosen in this pairing as I could not find a platypus but her colors represent all the tropical flavors of the beer. Even though she is not a platypus, her hair is long like the platypus tail and the holder that holds her sword is almost like a platypus bill. It is a stretch but I think the pairing works well.

Sources:
http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/12/127136/1753558-marino_perspective_cged_by_liline.png

http://img00.deviantart.net/09ea/i/2014/289/8/8/marino_by_wing_maiden-d830zf1.jpg

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb209/redninja4/Megaman/1234659355039.jpg