Cacaowbunga! (collab with The Rare Barrel)

Armistice Brewing Company — Richmond, CA

27 Jan 2020 · Stephen

Sour Armistice Brewing Company

6.5% ABV

Pale orange Color

Contributing Factors

Presentation ✓

Character ✓

Experience ✓

Return –

3 / 4 I'd recommend trying it

Tasting Notes

Appearance Hazy golden to pale orange — the pineapple and cacao fruit addition creating a warm, fruit-forward opacity without the deep pink of a raspberry or passionfruit sour. Minimal head, substantial in the glass.

Aroma Pineapple leads immediately and generously — your own Dole Whip comparison from Hop Asylum is the most accurate single-descriptor possible. Fresh pineapple, vivid and tropical, with the cacao fruit adding a softer, more exotic tropical note underneath — lychee-adjacent, slightly floral, nothing like chocolate. The lactose gives the whole aroma a soft creamy sweetness that rounds the fruit into smoothie territory.

Palate Super sweet and tropical — a drinker's concise assessment, and accurate. The pineapple carries through the middle in full concentration, the cacao fruit adding its exotic tropical depth alongside it, the lactose providing the smoothie-thick mouthfeel that makes this drink more like a dessert than a sour beer.

Finish Sweet, tropical, and short. The pineapple and cacao fruit resolve quickly into the lactose sweetness, the sour base providing a brief lactic brightness that fades fast. No lingering bitterness, no sharp acid — just a smooth, tropical, Dole Whip.

The Verdict

Armistice and The Rare Barrel built a Bart Simpson fever dream — cacao fruit, pineapple, lactose, smoothie sour base, 6.5% ABV. Not chocolate. Not what you expect. Totally tubuloso, as advertised.

— Stephen · Contributing Factor Brewing · 27 Jan 2020