F Is For Fruit Salad
Evil Twin Brewing

 

 

 

 

I have decided to dedicate myself to the Sue Grafton series of beers this week. ICYMI, she was the author of the Kinsey Milhone series of mystery novels in which each title beCAN with a successive letter of the alphabet. I was not a big fan of her series, but I would bet that I will like these much more. Sadly, I don't think that I bought either A, B or C when they were released, but I plan to stay current from now on. Viva The CANQuest (tm)!

From the CAN: "Gose-style Ale brewed with Salt and Blueberry, Strawberry, Blackberry, Peach and Blood Orange added"; "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 - apparently a complete reflection of your personality. We hope you like what this label says about you?"

The list of adjuncts reads like an ingredients list for fruit salad! Hey, wait a minute … I did some in-CAN agitation before Crack!ing open the vent to try and get any flocculate off of the punt & back into suspension, where it belongs. After the Crack!, I went with a heavy-handed Glug to CANtinue my efforts. I was sort of surprised when it turned out to be a cloudy Amber (SRM = > 7, < 9), given all of the variegated fruits that had gone into it. It puffed up to form a very brief two fingers of fizzy, foamy, soapy, off-white head with very limited retention, quickly falling away to wisps. Nose was really peachy! No, literally peachy with a hint of salt! 8=O More unexpected cirCANstances. This is going to be great, I CAN just feel it. Mouthfeel was thin & watery, as usual, but such is par for the course. The taste was peach-dominant, but I did get a blueberry-blackberry mélange before the lactic acid & salt beCAN to take ahold. I gotta say, given the past couple/few days, this was the least tart/sour of the lot, thus far. It was sweeter in terms of its fruit CANposition, which made it more palatable IMHO. Finish was fruity & salty, but not overly puckering. Impressive. Now, I CAN't wait for tomorrow & my last one. I'm gonna have to actively search these out from now on!

 

 

 

Appearance: Pours a hazy honey color with a two finger head; decent retention and a spots of lacing dribble down

Smell: A veritable fruit salad of aromatics, with strawberry, blackberry and blueberry most apparent; the salt also wafts

Taste: Tart blackberry and strawberry forward, with blueberry and peach tones emerging; blood orange bitterness appears in the middle, with the salt becoming more apparent in the finish

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with moderate carbonation

Overall: A delightful twist with a wide range of fruit flavor

 

 

 

-Brewed with salt, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and blood oranges.

A: Faint faded orange color, with a misty haze has a loose assembly of macro-effervesce. Thin creamy and light tan head is quick to dissipate leaving no lace dressing.

S: Sour peaches and berries are first on the nose. Tart lemons and grapefruit-citrus come through, with some saltiness. Sour berries, apricots and pears round out. Good awareness, really does smell like one of those old school fruit cups.

T: Tart citric-grapefruit flavor with a berry like fruitiness of blueberries and strawberries most notably. The blood oranges really comes through with a good awareness and finishes with a salty margarita like dryness and alcohol. Tart fruit cup.

M: Crisp mouthful, seltzer like CO2, creamy wheat like feel, has a good body weight and feel.

O: Overall a good Gose style, lighty dry and salty, fruity with a crisp mouthful and body. Nice additions.

 

16 oz. can dated 9/6/18. Poured into Aslin Teku glass.

L: Somewhat hazy soft pinkish orange hue. Big foamy head, but quickly recedes leaving very little lacing and a thin white ring.

S: Strawberry, peach, and other berry notes, and a definite sea air.

T: Lots of fruit indeed - berries and peach with a yeasty sea tang. Finish is pretty neutral.

F: Light bodied, moderate carbonation (probably could use a tad more). Construction and balance are pretty good.

O: Nice refreshing light-impact Gose. Definite poundability, especially in the summer.

 

 

Helping drunks learn the alphabet gradually over the past couple of years, Evil Twin takes a stop at "F" for our favorite word that begins with that letter... fruit salad! This gose shows a schizophrenic tone with all sorts of fruit ranging from blueberry, strawberry, blackberry, peach, and blood orange.

A rose blend of peach and pink frame the appearance for Fruit Salad as the ale sparkles with racy streams of bubble building a loose and foamy cap. Its tangy scent of all things berry spills onto the nose along with a jaw clinching twinge of sourness. Its strong wine and cider scent precedes a scant sweetness of sourdough, saltwater taffy and a hint of candy.

And as the acidity springs off of the middle palate, the full fruit presence of red berries and citrus carry a tart pop to ride alongside of the brisk sourness of the underlying ale where green berries, crabapple, white grape, lime and lemon reside. Trailing into a strong sangria presence, the light earth of dry burlap comes out to play.

Light, crisp and highly refreshing, the texture of the beer is further lightened by the zip of carbonation that gives an excellent lift to the session. It's a perfect fruit forward rendition of the classic gose style although the individual fruits wash out under the complexity and dryness.