Since March Madness is upon us, I thought I could do a mini-bracket of Figueroa Mountain Santa Barbara Shandys and see who comes out the winner.
First matchup is Mango Lemonade vs Hibiscus Lime. Followed by Watermelon vs Citrus with the two winners advancing in the Shandy final.
Round One – Appearance wise, the Hibiscus Lime wins with a sparkly dark pink tint. Aroma left something to be desired for both. Both were in an uncanny valley of beer mostly but fruit underneath. None of these had strong fruit flavors. Both were quite watery leading to a generic kind of wheaty beer taste. There was more lime flavor than mango or lemonade.
Winner – Hibiscus Lime but not a strong winner.
Round Two – The Watermelon pours a slightly darker yellow. Neither really wins the appearance battle. Watermelon has a touch too much of the Jolly Rancher aroma while the Citrus has the same kinda weird aroma that the Mango Lemonade did. The Citrus tastes exactly like the Hibiscus Lime except not pink. Watermelon fits into the watery mouthfeel better and tastes less hard candy than it smells.
Winner – Watermelon easily.
Final – Since Watermelon crushed Citrus, it is not surprising that it wins this round as well. Interestingly, as these warm up, the fruit flexes more. But overall, all four were disappointing. The watery character was surprising, making these closer to mineral water than a Shandy The grain taste was more prominent in all of them and all had weird aromas to them.