C Is For Cherry
Evil Twin Brewing

Man, did I ever get lucky during my latest visit to The Beer & Beverage Shoppe on Roseville Road! It is out of order, but I scored a CAN of this one as I am wrapping up my foray into the Sue Grafton series of beers. I don't think that I bought either A or B when they were released, but I plan to stay current from now on. Viva The CANQuest (tm)!

From the CAN: "Let's face it - we all like to put labels on things. It just makes us feel more comfortable. What assumptions have people made about you based on your race, religion, gender, the way you dress, or even the beer you drink? We did in fact label this beer for your convenience. It his a fresh tartness, a twist of salt and a balanced fruitiness of cherry - apparently a complete reflection of your personality. We hope you like what this label says about you?"

I Crack!ed the vent following some in-CAN agitation to ensure that any flocculate was back in suspension. After all, I was going for full-on Cherry! My C-Line Glug was more heavy-handed than usual, but again, it was a matter of getting the most out of this one. Man, it quickly foamed up to the point that I had to back down. It briefly formed two fingers of fizzy, foamy, soapy, pinkish head that quickly dissipated into wisps. 8=( Color was a cloudy pinkish-Amber (SRM = > 7, < 9), akin to freshly-squeezed grapefruit juice. Nose was redolent with sour cherries and a saltiness that was like standing on the forecastle in heavy seas, taking in the air. I always loved the smell of salt air while underway. Sigh. Mouthfeel was on-par for the style, which is to say kind of thin & watery. The taste was nice, but not traditional, thanks to the addition of sour cherries. Wow! If it was not tangy enough at its base, now it was downright puckering in its tartness! As to the style, this is from the site's revamped "Beer Styles" guide: "A wide variety of herbal, spice, floral or fruity aromas other than found in traditional Leipzig-Style Gose [may be] present, in harmony with other aromas." Fair dinkum! Man, this was an interesting twist on Gose, for sure. I am not a tart/sour guy by any stretch, but I gravitate towards Goses more than others simply because of their inherent saltiness. This did NOT disappoint in that department as it was not only tart from the cherries and sour from the lactic acid, but they did not hold back in the addition of salt. It seemed like a CANtradiction in terms (oxymoron), but I was now thirstier than when I started drinking this beer! 8=p Finish was bone-dry. Gaspingly dry. Reach for the asthma inhaler dry. You get the idea. Dry. Phew! This is quite the series!

 

 

 

 

 

after how intense the fruit has been in some of these, i was really expecting a lot more cherry on this. i know its been out for awhile now, like it might have faded some, but the color is barely pink, just a light rose color, and the cherry flavor is pretty mild, in balance rather, not all juice and overdone, still beer first. lot of bubbles on this submerged in the liquid, but they hardly collect into any head at all, and it looks odd as a result. aroma is light medicinal cherry sweetness, a little tang from them too, and then a sort of candy thing before the clean lemony lactic sourness, middle of the road in intensity. its not real sour when i drink it, a little vinous and sharp, clean though on the bacterial side of things, seemingly leaving a lot of room for fruit to do its thing, but it never really comes through for me here. i do get some salt and a trace coriander thing to it, which give it some needed depth and roundness, itd be pretty bland without that i think, more cherry would be a good thing here, i cant believe i actually think that, these guys tend to overdo it, but here it seems less than optimal. great carbonation when i drink it, almost feels like a seltzer water on the palate, as there is not much grain body to this either. interesting stuff, real light, not their best work, but an enjoyable can of beer...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C is for Gose. No, cookie. OK, cherry. This is a very good gose.

It pours just a tad off color towards red. The bubbles are exquisite. The aroma is also first rate, fruity and yeasty, like normal, plus the additional cherry flavor.

The taste is a great, tart gose, with a bit more kick in the tart department. It works. The finish is clean, just slightly tart, but it dissipates soon enough.

Highly recommended.

A: Pours a cloudy pinkish burnt orange in color with moderate amounts of fine active visible carbonation rising along edges of the glass and moderate medium golden yellow + burnt orange + ruby red colored highlights. The beer has a tow finger tall fizzy foamy white head that reduces to a few small patches of very thin film surrounded by a very thin ring at the edges of the glass. Light amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate aromas of slightly sour wheat malts with moderate aromas of lacto tartness. There are light aromas of lemon citrus and a hint of brininess. Light to moderate aromas of tart cherry.

T: Upfront there are just shy of moderate flavors of slightly sour wheat malts with light flavors of lemon citrus and moderate flavors of lacto tartness. Slightly stronger than moderate flavors of tart cherries and a light flavor of brininess. Light to moderate amounts of lingering tartness in the finish.

M: Light to medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Light to moderate amounts of acidic prickliness.

O: Easy to drink with the low ABV as well as being tart and refreshing - a really great beer for the very hot day that today was here in NC. Enjoyable - I could easily have a couple of these.

I really liked the apricot and blueberry before this gose was out. It’s a cloudy pinkish color. Somewhat cherry but a subtle sour flavor to it. Good for beginners in the gose world. Bought 3 cans at a local bottle shop. Would buy it again but it wasn’t a have to find again brew....