Belt’s Beer Garden: Sig ‘Em Up!

Sig Brewing Company is located in the heart of Tacoma, Washington. Their 7 Bbl brewpub has been operating in the city’s Hillside District for just over a year now, opening their doors in June of 2020.

I’m not sure if their beers leave the state or what their distribution looks like but I know I’ve never seen them around Illinois or the Midwest before. I was able to snag a can of one of their sour ales with quite the name - My Carmapple Romance.

The entire staff at Sig grew up listening to My Chemical Romance so this beer is an homage to their favorite emo band.

My Carmapple Romance is a tart, caramel apple ale with a solid 6% ABV. It was canned on May 4th and, while I don’t know how much it costs in their home state, in Illinois it set me back $8 for each 16-ounce can.

The brew poured a slightly translucent mutant green color. It was a bright neon green when held to the light but a much darker, almost forest green when not backlit. There was a big rush of head that started off the pour, reaching about two fingers high. But the foam quickly fizzled away and, within a few seconds, there were literally no bubbles anywhere to be found.

On the nose, My Carmapple Romance had a sticky-sweet tart aroma of sour apple candy and sugary caramel. It was almost like someone dipped green Jolly Ranchers in caramel and then melted it all down. Very intriguing...and I couldn’t wait to try it.

My first sip started off with absolutely no carbonation fizz and a slightly thicker body to it, both of which are unusual for sour beers.

The caramel hits first with a thicker, sugary sweetness before the apples begin to appear. Those green apples give off a crisp bite and just a hint of tartness.

Curiously, there was a tiny bit of fizzle that appeared midway through the sip but only when the apple flavoring began to appear.

On the back-end, the sugars begin to leave a sticky resinous feeling that coated my tongue completely. But, outside of that gummy feeling and a tiny caramel aftertaste, the brew finished really clean. It was an INSANELY crushable beer.

My Carmapple Romance wasn’t overly sour and never really made me pucker, it had just a light touch of green apple that was balanced out nicely by the caramel.

If you like caramel apples, you’ll love this beer. Totally worth the higher price tag.