Humble Forager Coastal Sunset V16 4Pk

Humble Forager Coastal Sunset V16 4Pk is a 6.0% ABV fruited pastry sour ale sold as a four-pack from Humble Forager Brewery in Wisconsin. This numbered release draws inspiration from Grandma's Ambrosia salad, layering pineapple, tangerine, cherry, coconut, marshmallow, walnuts, and vanilla beans over a tart wheat base. Earlier entries in the Coastal Sunset series earned an 89-point score from BJCP judges in a blind tasting for Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine, and the brewery itself was voted Best New Brewer by RateBeer.com.

Quick Facts: ABV: 6.0%  |  Origin: Waunakee, Wisconsin  |  Style: Fruited Pastry Sour Ale  |  Brewery: Humble Forager Brewery

Production & Heritage

Humble Forager Brewery was founded in 2019 by Austin Jevne, former co-founder and head brewer of Forager Brewery in Rochester, Minnesota. The brand is contract brewed at Octopi Brewing in Waunakee, Wisconsin, with recipes rooted in Jevne's Rochester origins. Coastal Sunset V16 sits within the brewery's rotating Coastal series, which builds on a tart base beer brewed with barley, spelt, red wheat, and white wheat, then soured using Forager Brewery's proprietary lactobacillus blend. The base is intentionally designed with extremely low bitterness, allowing each version's fruit and adjunct additions to project without interference. The brewery also prioritizes sourcing from farms committed to sustainability and organic practices.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: Ripe pineapple and bright tangerine citrus lead the nose, followed by toasted coconut shavings and a pillowy vanilla-marshmallow sweetness. A faint cherry undercurrent and a trace of walnut round out the aromatics.

Taste: The entry is lively with tangerine and pineapple tartness, clean and direct on the tongue. The mid-palate softens into creamy coconut and marshmallow, creating a dessert-like body. Cherry and walnut emerge toward the back, adding depth and a subtle nuttiness that grounds the sweetness against the lactic acid backbone.

Finish: Medium in length with lingering vanilla bean and a crisp lactic tartness that keeps the palate refreshed. Coconut and marshmallow fade gently, leaving a clean, fruity impression without cloying residual sugar.

How to Drink Coastal Sunset V16

Serve well chilled at 38–42°F in a tulip glass or stemmed goblet to concentrate the aromatic fruit and vanilla notes. This pastry sour works beautifully on its own as a standalone dessert course replacement. For a tropical riff, use it as the base for a Beermosa with fresh-squeezed tangerine juice to amplify the citrus core. Blend it into a Sour Shandy with tart lemonade for a bright warm-weather drink. Or float it over vanilla ice cream for a Pastry Sour Beer Float that leans into the coconut-marshmallow richness.

Best For

• Sharing with friends who gravitate toward fruited or pastry-style sours
• Pairing alongside a cheese board or fruit-forward dessert course
• Collecting and comparing across the rotating Coastal Sunset series
• A sweet-tart alternative for hop-fatigued craft beer drinkers

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Coastal Sunset V16 taste like? Coastal Sunset V16 is sweet, tart, and lively, with dominant pineapple and tangerine fruit layered over coconut, marshmallow, cherry, walnut, and vanilla bean flavors. The overall impression is a drinkable, dessert-like sour ale with clean lactic acidity and no harsh bitterness.

How does Coastal Sunset V16 compare to Humble Forager's Coastal Sunshine series? Coastal Sunshine focuses on seasonal fruit availability in a cleaner, fruit-forward sour format, while Coastal Sunset leans into richer dessert-pastry territory with additions like marshmallow, coconut, and vanilla beans. Both share the same low-bitterness, lactobacillus-soured wheat base but deliver distinctly different flavor profiles.

Is Coastal Sunset V16 good for sipping on its own? Yes — the 6.0% ABV keeps it sessionable, and the balanced sweetness-to-tartness ratio makes it satisfying without food or garnish. Serve it cold in a tulip glass to get the most from its layered aromatics.

Where is Coastal Sunset V16 made? Coastal Sunset V16 is brewed at Octopi Brewing in Waunakee, Wisconsin, under the Humble Forager Brewery brand founded by Austin Jevne in 2019. The brand's recipes originate from Rochester, Minnesota, where Jevne co-founded Forager Brewery.

What foods pair well with Coastal Sunset V16? Fresh fruit tarts complement the pineapple and tangerine notes. Creamy cheeses like brie or mascarpone echo the coconut and marshmallow richness. Grilled shrimp with a citrus glaze bridges the beer's tartness, while vanilla panna cotta mirrors the vanilla bean backbone. Candied walnuts reinforce the nutty undertone present in the recipe.

What sizes does Coastal Sunset V16 come in? Coastal Sunset V16 is available as a four-pack of cans, which is the standard release format for Humble Forager's rotating Coastal series.

Is Coastal Sunset V16 worth the price? Coastal Sunset V16 positions as a premium craft sour ale, reflecting its specialty ingredients, limited rotating production, and Humble Forager's growing reputation — the brewery was voted Best New Brewer by RateBeer.com. For fans of pastry sours, it represents strong value within the style given the complexity of its ingredient list.

Why Coastal Sunset V16?

Humble Forager's Coastal Sunset series distinguishes itself by building each numbered version around a specific culinary concept — in this case, Grandma's Ambrosia salad — rather than simply adding fruit to a sour base. The underlying beer, soured with a proprietary lactobacillus blend on a grain bill of barley, spelt, red wheat, and white wheat, provides a clean, low-bitterness canvas that lets the pineapple, tangerine, cherry, coconut, marshmallow, walnut, and vanilla bean additions speak clearly. Earlier Coastal Sunset versions scored 89 points in blind judging by BJCP-certified judges for Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine, lending credibility to the series beyond hype alone. The rotating, limited nature of each version means V16 is a one-time release — once it's gone from shelves, it won't return.