Brewery: Fort Collins Brewery
Beer: Major Tom’s Pomegranate Wheat
Style: Witbier
ABV: 4.8%
Character: This beer is infused with real pomegranates & filtered to a bright finish.
Ratings at time of Review: BA: 74 | RB: 26
Metal Connection: HELLOWEEN – Space Oddity (David Bowie cover)

Rating: 3/5

Here we have another beer that my wonderful friend Halie brought for me from one of her visits from CO to TX. There are a few more to go to review from her trips. I am so grateful to have awesome friends like her who are willing to bring me back beer from wherever they are.

This is the first of the Fort Collins Brewery beers to make the website. Witbiers are hit or miss with me, not all of them I enjoy. The one thing that really intrigued me about this beer is that they brew this with pomegranates which have become one of my favorite fruits. So not knowing exactly what to expect with this beer, I went into this session with a clear mind and palate ready take on the challenge.

Poured into a pilsener/weizen glass, Major Tom’s Pomegranate appeared a translucent slightly darkened golden color with a half inch white foamy head. There was a thin layer of head as the beer went down, leaving small traces of lacing down the glass.

The aroma is pretty standard for a witbier with a very mild fruitiness. Smell of grains, wheat, hay, honey, and a sugary sweetness. It reminds me of a sugary breakfast cereal. There is a mild scent of fruit tartness masked in the background that lingers a bit in the nose. Assuming this is from the added pomegranate juice.

The taste is like the nose, all witbier characteristics up front and in the body. Wheat, grains, hay-like taste, honey, sugar sweetness, and a mild peppery flavor. Again the pomegranate is very mild in the taste. For me, it only appears at the end and gives this beer a lingering mild fruit tartness. It works well with the other flavors, but I just wish the pomegranate flavor profile was much more and up front.

This has a slightly lighter than medium body. Good carbonation. The mouthfeel is slick and smooth, with a dry finish with a very mild tart/sour feeling.

When I received this beer, I was pretty excited to try it, as I love pomegranates. I was a bit let down though, as I really wanted the fruit to be more dominant in all aspects of this beer, aroma, taste, mouthfeel. It is there, but it is so mild and masked by the witbier profile more than anything. As I have learned with a lot of beers, I’m sure on draft, I would be able to pick up more pomegranate notes, but unless I visit Colorado, that will never happen here in San Antonio.

Metal Connection: Oh come on now, this one was way too fuckin’ easy! Hardest part was finding a Metal version of the amazing song, “Space Oddity” by David Bowie, which of course sings about a Major Tom. I had already used another cover of this song by the Black Metal band, Tulus before on another review, Apollo by Sixpoint Brewing Company. I was very happy to find another awesome version of this song, that is very close to the original by German Power/Speed Metal band, Helloween. Helloween has been kicking around the Metal scene since 1983, and is still alive and active now. In 1999, the band released an album of cover songs called Metal Jukebox. There are 11 cover songs on this album including this David Bowie song among other covers of Scorpions, Jethro Tull, ABBA, The Beatles, and more. I am very sure you are all familiar with the original David Bowie song. Please give this version a proper listen, and see how great a Metal band can cover such a beauty!