I’ve been a bit remiss with not getting these couple of drops up on the site
, and considering Pirate Life want to hit 50 new releases this year, most of which we wont get to see this far north, puts me behind the eight ball to start with with. First thing i noticed here was how Pirate Life have slightly changed their labelling for these Dan Murphy’s specific beers. Normally around the top of the can they list what malts, hops etc, the images are still there but there is no wording of what the specific ingredients are.
But i digress..
Sour beers are a polarising style of beer, I struggle with them because I personally find that there aren’t too many that are refreshing, or that make you want to go back for more. The Boysenberry Sour is more tart than sour, loaded with dark cherry cola type flavours and aromas without that sugar loaded sweetness that comes with a cherry cola. there is a good lick of acid that rides its way to the end, which almost allows the malts to show, but its really driven by the tart fruit. Could be interesting come summer time, but right now its probably something you would give to someone to ease them into the sour beer world. Not sure what it will work with food wise though.
The North West Pale Ale nudges into the Amber ale territory slightly, and for those that have tried the Pirate Life Pale before, this is essentially a slight more malt driven version of that classic, without the sweetness that can sometimes come from those lightly toasted malts. Some nice biscuity malt notes on the nose, red grapefruit and some sappy pine, but on the tongue is where it comes alive. Lightly sweet malt, some toasty notes, reasonable bitterness,, touch of stone fruit and pithy grapefruit. Quite a dry finish to it this one which will see it pair well with a range of foods. 
