#1 Cherry Cola Float Sour

Wiper and True, Bristol

Working with Vault City could only mean one thing: a silly sour. We’re huge fans of the joyful approach that the Vault team takes to creating beer, and a birthday collaboration was the perfect chance to really let our collective imaginations run wild. Jeremiah, Vault City’s resident Cellar & Mixed Fermentation Specialist, joined us in January to kickstart the collaboration extravaganza.

Ahhh, the nostalgic, childhood bliss of a coke float: that sweet, creamy scoop of vanilla ice cream gently bobbing in a fizzing, ice cold glass of cola, a trickle of condensation crawling down the outside of your glass. For a contemporary twist on this magical affair, we combined Vault City’s sour making expertise and the Wiper and True obsession with beautifully balanced beers. After some fairly excitable discussions, our teams settled on a 7.0% Cherry Cola Float Sour, using 300kg of cherry puree for tartness, 25kg of molasses for caramelised, dark sugars, and 3l of beautifully delicate, creamy vanilla. It’s a sour beer, certainly, but the recipe is all about balance; sour cherry interacting with sweet vanilla, and a strong malt base keeping everything wrapped up with a sturdy, structured mouthfeel. Sweet, sour, cherry, cola, and vanilla, all balanced in one beer