450 North SLUSHY XL Unicorn Juice 4Pk

450 North SLUSHY XL Unicorn Juice 4Pk is a fruited Berliner Weisse-style sour ale from 450 North Brewing Company in Columbus, Indiana, sold as a 4-pack of 16 oz cans at 8.0% ABV. This expression earned a 92 score on BeerAdvocate and holds a 4.3 out of 5 average across more than 7,400 ratings on Untappd, placing it among the most celebrated releases in the brewery's prolific SLUSHY lineup.

Quick Facts: ABV: 8.0%  |  Origin: Columbus, Indiana, USA  |  Style: Fruited Berliner Weisse  |  Brewery: 450 North Brewing Company

Production & Heritage

450 North Brewing Company operates out of Columbus, Indiana, where it has built a national reputation almost entirely on the strength of its SLUSHY sour series. Unicorn Juice is conditioned on what the brewery describes as "rainbow amounts" of starfruit, peach, mango, and pink guava — a fruit loading far beyond what most fruited sours receive, resulting in an opaque, smoothie-like body. The XL designation indicates the larger 16 oz can format, giving drinkers more of the intensely fruited liquid per serving compared to the standard SLUSHY releases.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: The nose opens with an immediate wave of ripe mango and pink guava, followed by juicy stone fruit peach sweetness. Starfruit adds a slightly tart, exotic undercurrent beneath the dominant tropical character.

Taste: On the palate, mango and peach arrive first with a pronounced juicy sweetness that reads almost like fresh-pressed fruit pulp. Mid-palate, the guava and starfruit assert themselves, introducing a layered tropical complexity. The Berliner Weisse base contributes a restrained lactic tartness that keeps the fruit from tipping into cloying territory.

Finish: The finish is medium in length with a smoothie-like texture and a light acidic prickliness that cleanses the palate. Lingering impressions of mango and guava fade gradually, leaving a soft tropical sweetness.

How to Drink SLUSHY XL Unicorn Juice

Pour directly into a tulip glass or wide-mouth goblet at refrigerator temperature — around 38–42°F — to preserve the fruit aromatics and thick mouthfeel. Gently invert the can before opening, as the heavy fruit sediment settles quickly.

• Fruit Beer Shandy: Blend with lemonade for an amplified tropical refresher on hot days.
• Sour Michelada: The thick tropical body pairs surprisingly well with lime juice, hot sauce, and Tajín for a fruit-forward take on the classic.
• Beer Float: Pour over a scoop of mango sorbet — the smoothie-like texture and fruit intensity make this a natural pairing for a dessert serve.

Best For

• Trading among craft beer collectors who follow hype sour releases
• Introducing non-beer drinkers to sour ales through an approachable, fruit-forward gateway
• Summer cookouts or pool days where bold tropical flavors match the setting
• Gifting to a craft beer enthusiast who values limited-run fruited sours

Frequently Asked Questions

What does SLUSHY XL Unicorn Juice taste like? It drinks like a tropical fruit smoothie with pronounced mango, peach, pink guava, and starfruit flavors, balanced by a mild lactic tartness from the Berliner Weisse base. The mouthfeel is thick and chewy, closer to juice than traditional beer.

How does Unicorn Juice compare to other 450 North SLUSHY variants? While most SLUSHY releases feature two or three fruits, Unicorn Juice layers four — starfruit, peach, mango, and pink guava — creating a more complex tropical profile than single-fruit expressions like SLUSHY Mango or SLUSHY Peach.

Is SLUSHY XL Unicorn Juice good for craft beer beginners? Yes — its smoothie-like body and dominant fruit sweetness make it one of the most approachable sour ales available, though its 8.0% ABV means it drinks stronger than it tastes.

Where is SLUSHY XL Unicorn Juice made? It is brewed at 450 North Brewing Company in Columbus, Indiana, a small city roughly 40 miles south of Indianapolis known primarily for its architecture and, increasingly, for 450 North's sour beer output.

What foods pair well with SLUSHY XL Unicorn Juice? Grilled shrimp tacos with mango salsa complement the tropical fruit; creamy brie or mild chèvre soften the tartness; coconut rice pudding echoes the exotic fruit character; spicy Thai green curry benefits from the beer's fruit sweetness as a counterbalance; and fresh ceviche mirrors the citrus-adjacent acidity.

What sizes does Unicorn Juice come in? The XL format is a 16 oz can, and this product is sold as a 4-pack of those 16 oz cans.

Is SLUSHY XL Unicorn Juice worth the price? It positions as a premium craft sour within the hype beer market, where limited availability and high fruit content command higher per-ounce pricing than standard sours — its BeerAdvocate score of 92 and strong Untappd consensus suggest it delivers on that premium positioning.

Why SLUSHY XL Unicorn Juice?

The 450 North SLUSHY series essentially defined the smoothie sour subcategory, and Unicorn Juice stands as one of the line's most fully realized expressions. Its four-fruit combination of starfruit, peach, mango, and pink guava produces a layered tropical complexity that single- or dual-fruit sours rarely achieve. A BeerAdvocate score of 92 and more than 7,400 Untappd ratings confirm broad critical and community approval. For anyone serious about fruited sours, this is a benchmark release from a brewery that helped create the style.