Why It’s On Our Shelves
Pineapple | Tart | Creamy
A refreshingly tart vegan dessert sour inspired by pineapple upside-down cake, packed with pineapple and balanced by creamy vanilla and oats.
Ampersand Pineapple Upside Down Cake takes its inspiration from the classic pineapple dessert and turns it into a 5.6% vegan kettle-soured beer that's fruity, tart, creamy and wonderfully refreshing.
Pineapple is very much the star of the show, with heaps of fruit used during fermentation to deliver plenty of bright, tropical character. Vanilla and oats provide the counterbalance, adding a softer, creamy sweetness that rounds out the acidity without taking away the refreshing sourness.
The result is one of those beers that demonstrates just how far modern brewing can move beyond the traditional ideas of what beer is supposed to taste like.
What does Pineapple Upside Down Cake taste like?
Expect an immediate hit of juicy, tropical pineapple, bringing both natural sweetness and a lively tartness.
The kettle souring gives the beer its refreshing acidity, while vanilla introduces the sweeter, dessert-like character suggested by the name. Oats help soften everything, adding body and a creamy texture that balances the sharper pineapple.
Despite the dessert inspiration, this isn't simply sweet. It's tart, fruity and effervescent, with enough acidity to keep each mouthful fresh and moreish.
How to enjoy it
Serve well chilled and let the pineapple do the talking.
Its combination of fruit, acidity and creamy sweetness also makes it an interesting beer to pair with food. Try it with:
- Spicy dishes and chilli
- Thai and Southeast Asian food
- Barbecued pork
- Grilled chicken
- Salty snacks
- Creamy soft cheeses
- Fresh goat's cheese
- Blue cheese
- Fruit-based desserts
- Cheesecake
- And, inevitably, pineapple upside-down cake
The beer's acidity can cut through richer foods particularly well, while its fruit character makes it a natural partner for spice.
Product Details
Beer: Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Brewery: Ampersand Brew Co.
Style: Vegan Dessert Sour / Kettle Sour
ABV: 5.6%
Key Flavours: Pineapple and vanilla
Character: Tart, tropical, creamy and effervescent
Made with: Pineapple, vanilla and oats
Dietary: Vegan
Why we like it
This is precisely the sort of beer that makes working with smaller independent breweries interesting.
Someone has effectively asked:
“What would happen if we turned pineapple upside-down cake into a beer?”
And then actually brewed it.
But importantly, there's more going on here than simply having an unusual name. Pineapple naturally lends itself to a sour beer, bringing plenty of acidity and tropical fruit, while vanilla and oats provide the creamy sweetness needed to bring the dessert idea together.
Unusual? Definitely. But that's rather the point.
It's creative brewing from Norfolk that gives you something genuinely different to discover – and exactly the sort of beer we like finding space for on our shelves.