Lucked out with this one. In town for a few days from the ATL, and Mike (BA sprinkle) happened to have persauded his wife to part with her bottle of the Kiwi for a tasting at Crown #15 in Fishers, IN, USA. MANY thanks – MUCH appreciated by me.
Totally coincidently, review #1800. Original batch, one of only 48 released bottles.
Sampled on three small pours.
Golden yellow color with pretty much complete clarity. No carbonation, head, lace or retention to speak of.
Fruit notes are basically non-existent. If you are expecting a kiwi note of any description you are going to be terribly disappointed. Mid-range sourness and funk, nothing heavy-handed at all. Some green apple notes, this is very close to a dry, west country cider (England). Sharp and clean, but not very astringent at all.
Mellows out on warming and with that comes a little more round, fruit character but nothing that you would describe as kiwi based. In terms of the fruit, non-descript.
Tasty and delighted to have tried it, but not my favorite of the Upland lambic tasting group. Another example of rarity causing a little too much ado about nothing.