Beer of the Weekend #987: Unicorn Fight Club

The beer of the weekend is the last beer from my September Benz haul and a little something different for both myself and Iowa’s oldest microbrewery: Unicorn Fight Club, brewed by the Millstream Brewing Company of Amana, Iowa.

Unicorn Fight Club

Yep, it’s a sour. I don’t drink sours often. If given the choice between a sour and anything else, I’ll take anything else 10 times out of 10. Sours are not my preferred choice, so it is unusual for me to drink one. It is also unusual, I think, for Millstream to brew one given its history until recently. The new owners are trying a lot of new things, but Millstream was staunchly German/traditional for much of its past.

(Speaking of German, I should be drinking märzen since it’s October. I will probably track down one or two more before the month is over.)

Serving type: 16-ounce can. Ink is smeared on the bottom of the can, so something was printed there, but it long ago became illegible.

Appearance: Poured into a tulip. The color is hazy pink. Two fingers of off-white, buttery, bubbly head sticks around for a while before leaving a collar and spots of skim.

Smell: It smells sour, and I get general fruitiness, but there is nothing that stands out, nothing discernible. Honestly, though, I don’t drink enough sours to really dissect them.

Taste: There is flavor, and it is surprisingly good. It has a sour edge that lingers on the tongue but the beer is very drinkable. It’s actually a pounder. It reminds me a lot of Confluence’s Light & Squeezy. Raspberry is most prominent, but it is light; it is akin to raspberry-flavored tea, especially iced since the beer is cold.

Fun facts about Unicorn Fight Club

• Style: Raspberry sour.

• Price: $10.99 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans at Benz Beverage Depot in Cedar Rapids.

• Alcohol content: 5 percent ABV.

• Anything with
fight club in the name makes me think of Fight Club. I have never read the book (I should), but I saw the movie in the theater, something I vividly remember. I saw it the day after my 17th birthday and got carded when I bought the ticket since the movie is rated R (R-rated movies are restricted to those 17 and older). It was the only time I was ever carded for a movie.

• Looking closely at my Benz receipt, I notice I paid for 22 cans worth of deposit but only four four-packs of beer are listed on the receipt. That means I paid a deposit on six cans of Smoke Show but did not get charged for the six-pack. Thirty-cent six-pack!


The Quiet Man’s grade: B-

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