Saturday, March 24, 2012

2 for the day


Ah, talk about a rare style: Gose, brewed in the city of Gosar, next to the river Gose. Oh Germany, you fickle animal.

This is one of the stranger styles of beer, brewed with coriander and salt. Yes, salt. The underlying beer is surprisingly tart and would make for an excellent and refreshing summer beer.

I don't think this is a beer for everyone. All the same, I have to give it at least 7/10. I'm sure that this, when fresh, is absolutely jaw dropping. But, considering I only know of this one example of the style, that's as high as I can rate it comfortably.

The Beer, Bourbon & BBQ festival was today, but sadly we couldn't go due to household chores that had to get knocked out. That said, I can always enjoy an ale from one of the breweries that was there.

Weighing in at a moderate 5.6%, DuClaw's Anti-Venom is really well-built. This beer is their APA, hopped with New Zealand Geen Bullet.

The label states it is laced with exotic flavors, which I don't taste. What I do get is a wonderful grassy/straw flavor that is brought to the palate on Cascade-grapefruit wings.

The malt is in the background hints at caramel sweetness and unsalted crackers, but the hops absolutely dominate this beer. The bitterness is not so overwhelming as you drink, but crushes you on the aftertaste. I'm happy with this beer; but it would be interesting to see it entered as a straight APA in competition, what would it score?

Me? Torn between 7 and 8. It's too well made to be less.

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