Looking to start things off right, I kicked off the new year with a snifter of Blackberry Berliner Weisse Ale from Hinterland Brewing of Green Bay.

It fills the mouth with a bright, light, fizzy tartness that makes a person feel pretty darn good to be alive, so, mission accomplished for first beer of the year. It refreshes and awakens the senses.

The lightness is not only in the mouthfeel but in the 3.5 percent alcohol content, which is one of the hallmarks of the Berliner Weisse style, a traditional sour that in the homeland is often toned down with flavored syrup, either a green Waldmeister (woodruff) or red Himbeere (raspberry). 

Hinterland takes are of that by adding the blackberries for you, and they give an exciting deep fruity resonance to the tartness.

Yes, a very nice beer for the start of a new year.

I also had the pleasure of a bomber bottle of O’so Brewing’s Scarlet Letter, a sour blonde brewed with the appropriately seasonal cranberries.

Yes, lovely, tart cranberries represent well in this 5 percent wild sour ale. The resulting beer is, of course, cranberry-colored (or translucent scarlet), and cranberries are definitely at the heart of its smile-inducing tartness. 

Thing is, with each sip a great a craving for a Club Sandwich.