Good afternoon, my fellow beer lovers!
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Midweek Drink on this mild and wet day in May…which should be warm and sunny by now! Now with lockdown restrictions lifted, it’s time to finally see loved ones and friends; to catch up and enjoy the summer (if the rain subsides) in a pub garden; your own garden, by the river or in the park.
So to kick-off this summer’s Midweek Drink, I will be reviewing for you a Polish Pastry Sour called FREE PAN DA, produced by two breweries Nepomucen & Deer Bear.
A brief history of Nepomucen and Deer Bear
Nepomucen brewery was founded as a small craft brewery in Szkaradowo, Poland, by two home brewers, Piotr and Mariusz Musielak. By designing their own brewing equipment, and the help of quality raw materials, the brewery has managed to produce quality old and new types of beers, including seasonal beers.
As for Deer Bear, they are a five year old Polish craft brewery that was also founded by home brewers.
Three senses and a beverage
FREE PAN DA is produced in a 500ml can and with an ABV of <0.5% that makes this a non alcoholic beer. It has the following ingredients: water, pilzen barley malt, wheat malt; mango; passion fruit; lactose; oranges; yuzu; yeast, hops.
Once you crack open the can (the best sound to hear after a hard days work), you are immediately hit with the sweet and citrus aromas of the mango and oranges that blend beautifully. And when poured, it’s like your looking at mango juice filling up the glass!
With its bright and cheery colour tone, minimal carbonation that gives this sour a crisp and refreshing body and a thin white head, you can finally enjoy what this beverage will taste like.
For the taste, at first you are hit with the yuzu’s sourness (but not the kind of sourness that makes you pull one of those scrunched-up faces), that is balanced out with the sweetness of the mango and passionfruit. Finally, you are treated to a subtle hoppy, dry aftertaste.