Beer Post

[SapperDawg]

Anybody trying any new summer beers that are any good? I am an unabashed Sierra Nevada devotee. I can't really think of a beer expression they have released that I really didn't like, until early this summer when I saw the Orta Vez Gose (goz-uh) style and picked it up.

Hated it.

I am a fan of the sour beers, but didn't like this one at all. Also, I generally dislike any beer with fruit, or fruity. So I drank all but two of the six pack and let them set in the fridge for almost two months.

I am also a follower of Hank Shaw, a wild food and foraging blogger/expert. He has been experimenting with wild beers this year, and published a how-to on the gose style recently, that piked my interest: http://honest-food.net/2016/07/08/gose-beer-recipe/.

So in the heat of a North AL July, I tried the Orta Vez again - and found it really enjoyable. I don?t know if the extra heat did it, or the fact I now had some history behind the flavor profile. Now, I see them everywhere. I tried a Terrapin Watermelon Gose yesterday, and it was terrific - so terrific I grabbed a six pack.

Due to my obsessive, all-in nature, I have found that Westbrook and Monday Night both make a more traditional style gose that are available here, and I will likely pick up later this week to see how they compare.

If you are a craft beer experimenter, the gose is at the intersection of the two hottest styles going right now: sour and session. I recommend grabbing one or more of these to try as we near the dog days.

[Uncle Ruckus]

Was in New Orleans a few weeks ago and tried Abita's blueberry one. I imagine that's what a dog tastes when they lick their own balls

[BrunswickDawg]

It is hard getting a lot of specialty micro Brews here - so my summer beers tend to be mid-size seasonals. Sam Adams Summer Ale is a regular, Lienie's Summer Shandy, Curious Traveler Shandy, Shiner Ruby Redbird,

[SapperDawg]

Was in New Orleans a few weeks ago and tried Abita's blueberry one. I imagine that's what a dog tastes when they lick their own balls

Can totally see this. Very thin line here between good and bad.

[BeastMan]

I hated that Sierra Nevada cactus bs too. I tried the New Belgium heavy melon ale and it was pretty good. Wasn't too fruity. I also had a Sweetwater Pineapple IPA that was good too. That's about as far as I like to delve in the fruit beers. Summer seasonals are my least favorite by far.

[SpeckleDawg]

I was a little leary on trying this one from chandeleur, afraid the pineapple would be overwhelming, but it's actually much better than I expected. I'm not a fan of fruity beers at all and just thought of this thread when I was at the store today. The pineapple isn't strong at all and it's a great beer for this hot weather...especially while frying fish outside.

[SpeckleDawg]

This one isn't on the fruity topic, but damn good...

[BeastMan]

Founders is a great brewery

[SpeckleDawg]

I've heard great things about their KBS, but have not tried it yet.

[Uncle Ruckus]

Curious traveler grapefruit is far and away my favorite 'fruity' beer. My wife doesn't drink beer hardly any, but she'll get shock top Apple once in a blue moon, and it's not all that bad.

[LC Dawg]

I had a couple of Abita Blueberries after a tennis match and it was pretty refreshing. The Chandeleur Pineapple Wheat is also great in the heat. Sierra Nevada Summerfest never disappoints me. Bell's Oberon has been a summer favorite of mine for a while. Suzy Smash from Southern Prohibition is a really good beer. Those guys in Hattiesburg are putting out some great beers. Their Crowd Control IPA is one of my favorite beers of all time.

[BeastMan]

I had a couple of Abita Blueberries after a tennis match and it was pretty refreshing. The Chandeleur Pineapple Wheat is also great in the heat. Sierra Nevada Summerfest never disappoints me. Bell's Oberon has been a summer favorite of mine for a while. Suzy Smash from Southern Prohibition is a really good beer. Those guys in Hattiesburg are putting out some great beers. Their Crowd Control IPA is one of my favorite beers of all time.

Southern Prohibition has a state grad working for them in marketing almost from the get-go. She's a hoot.

[LC Dawg]

Southern Prohibition has a state grad working for them in marketing almost from the get-go. She's a hoot.

State grads are prominent on the burgeoning Mississippi beer scene. I know the owners of Lazy Magnolia and at least two of the Lucky Town guys are State grads. I did the Lucky Town tour last year and picked up a sweet maroon and white Lucky Town t-shirt.

[SapperDawg]

To start this thread, I was detailing my running down the rabbit hole of the gose beer style. I now have four different types in my fridge, as I wanted to get a good cross sectional sampling of the style to see what was all out there. Here are my reviews, in the order that I tried them:

Sierra Nevada Orta Vez: A bit cloudy on the pour, not very salty, sourness that is sweet in nature. Drinks very easy, however I find this is not a great “pounder” due to the style of sourness. I have begun to like this beer, but I like it more on a hot day outside.

Terrapin Watermelon Gose: Clear, low tartness, the watermelon is more of a nose than taste here. Salty is more pronounced, and it is less sour than the Orta Vez. This one is a good pounder.

Westbrook Gose: Cloudy as a standard wheat beer would be, and wheaty flavor, with high tart and pronounced saltiness. Wheat beers are not my favorite, so this is disappointing to me, as other reviews have it as a standard bearer of the style.

Monday Night Brewing FuManBrew Gose: Clear, light, not overly sour, pronounced saltiness. Definite pounder, and what I think is a great entry point for this style of beer – at least our modern interpretation.

Overall, I have a better appreciation for this style of beer and found a few that I like. None of these will be an everyday, but they are great change of pace beers for the summer. I found these to be a one or two in the middle of the day type beers, and not a true session beer.

If you want to try these and are not a fan of the sour, very tart beers, then Monday Night followed by Terrapin is the way to go. If you like a wheat beer, then the Westbrook Gose is the place to start. Once you get past those, then you are into interesting flavor profile territory.