You could blend an actual key lime pie, stick it in a bottle and it would still probably taste less like a key lime pie than this beer.
The fresh, sweet and sour flavours of key lime pie are famed the world over, making it one of the most popular desserts to grace the pudding table.
Vault City have taken these flavours - the fresh, citrus flavour of the lime, the sweetness of the fruit and the biscuity malt flavour of the base - and turned it into a sour worthy of the reputation of the pie.
At 7.5% ABv it's fairly strong, but with so many big flavours all working together the alcohol content doesn't really matter, it's all about the flavour with this one.
As you'd expect, the overall smell is lime. There is also a biscuity aroma that goes with it, helping to compliment the lime and make it a little less overpowering.
The pour is darker than I expected, with a thick, fluffy white head that you can drink the whole beer through nicely. There's a little sediment in the body, but it's by no means detrimental to the flavour.
The texture is smooth with a thick body that is really, really sour at first. Once this initial bite subsides a little the sweetness of the lime comes through along with the tart citrus flavour, the biscuit base of the malt helping to curb the big sweet and sour flavours to make it into the pie.
The aftertaste is much sweeter and allows the juiciness of the lime to really shine. This leaves you with a wonderful aftertaste that almost makes you forget how sour the beer really is.
A pretty straightforward label design that really does look similar to it's baked namesake. Green and yellow sunburst form the main colour, with the usual bottom-half white style of Vault City's labels showcasing the name, brewery logo and strength.
There's a little information on the side of the label which gives some context to the inception of the beer and a bit of a bio, which is interesting to read once your face has un-scrunched from the tartness.
Difficult to track down this one, we got it from our local beer shop Beer Central, so I would definitely recommend checking your local too.
Failing that, you can grab a bottle from the Wee Beer Shop online for £7.40. Probably more than you'd pay for an actual key lime pie from a bakery, but worth every penny i'd say.
Failing that, you can grab a bottle from the Wee Beer Shop for £7.40. This is probably more than you would pay for a key lime pie from a bakery, but i'd argue it's worth every penny.
