Golden Gate Gose
Almanac Beer Co.

 

This was a great Gose! Was a bit taken aback by the low score this beer got but reading the reviews, some mentioned the funk they liked about it so I had enough confidence to try it out - not to mention the local ingredients from San Jose, SF and Santa Cruz that were also appealing to me...
Though the taste was not that "extraordinary" or extreme that you might have from other Goses, this was just well balanced. Not too salty, not too sour, not too spicy and so on. BUT THE FEELING! It was just great! All in all, what decides a good beer? Of course all elements come into play but I think that the FEEL is what leaves the biggest remark somehow, as alk the others add up into this one somehow (tell me if I'm wrong). So this gose felt great, had nothing against it whatsoever. Quite apple cider-ish, bit like sour white wine or champagne that went off. Would you need anything more?

a good example of a gose beer very tasteful

I don't really buy bombers, but my Dad loves paying double the cost per ounce, so naturally he picked this one up. Pours a lightly hazy yellow and gold, 1/3" white bubbled head. Aroma was lacking much of anything, definitely seemed to be lacking salinity or wheat.

Taste wise, it came across more like a blonde ale than anything gose. The tartness, wheat and salinity were just lacking. You don't want the hallmarks of style to be lacking unless you're making something that sucks like a doppelbock or rauchbier (I keeeeed). Notes of coriander could be located. A little bit of lemon when it warms up. So while the beer didn't do anything offensive, I found it to be lacking a little bit in the very things that make a beer a gose. The base was ok, I think more wheat, more tart though is a starting point for improvement.

 

On tap at McGillicuddy’s, Williston, VT. This was poured into a pint glass. The appearance was a light transparent yellow color with some carbonation rising at a nice pace. No head and obviously no lacing. The smell started off with lemon, lime, lightly rimmed salt. The "sour-ed" wheat portion is extremely light but really good. The taste was sour through the wheat portion. Saltiness balances appropriately. Lemon and lime come back - slightly bitter yet tart. Nicely structured citrusy aftertaste. Finishes pleasantly balanced between the citrus and salt. On the palate, this one was definitely light bodied which gave it a great sessionability. Since the "sour-ness" is tame enough, the sessionability really becomes spectacular. Overall, if this is canned, I’d want cans for fishing this Summer. Really great gose!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sour at first sniff, with ample saltiness up front, its right on the money for the style. Mildly hazy golden body with fine carbonation, thin airy head stays put, streaky lacing. Sour, salty, dry finish.

 

Appearance: Golden and crystal clear, good slow and steady carbonation bubbles rising to form a decent 1 finger head of rocky froth white topping composed of mostly medium sized bubbles. Dissipates at a medium fast rate and leaves behind some light lacing and spotty surface islands of foam.

Aromatics: Salty sea water and sweaty sock funk. Light coriander spice and citrusy notes - lemon and/or lime in particular. Wet and stale wheat chaff and freshly tanned leather - not quite smokey but close.

Taste: Quite refreshing, salty with a lemongrass tartness (not actual lemon). Slightly tangy with grassy and woody flavours. The coriander spice popping in to say hi just as the other flavours are wrapping up the party. Rather simple and straightforward, it doesn’t try to complicate things nor should it.

Feel: Carbonation is fairly subdued, but still has enough of a presence to keep things in the fizzy zone. A middleweight that thins out as it closes in on the finish. Mild earthy linger and the salt does a great job at drying out the palate so that pretty much nothing is left.

Overall: Not a bad goes all-in-all, I’ve only had a few different ones, but this one seems pretty much on par. The differences always seem to present themselves in the salt’s source - and less in the malts and hops.

Pairing : It needs something juicy to help keep the salts from drying up too much. And what can be juicier than a good bbq gourmet hamburger - I’m a 60-40 beef/pork type person myself, occasionally I will go with bison instead of beef. Anyways, in the patty mix I will throw in finely chopped shallot, jalapeño, garlic and habenaro blend, and some sharp cheddar. Due to the saltiness already in the the brew, I will forgo adding Himalayan pink salt and I also will reluctantly resist topping with bacon as I already have a 40% pork in the beef grind. Served on a sweet fresh brioche bun with my usual condiments - red onion, spicy ketchup, mustard, relish, mayo and lettuce. mmm mm!

 

Pretty good gose. Great mouthfeel and carbonation. Nice peachy taste, but there is a weird aftertaste.

 

 

 

A: Pours a crystal clear medium yellow in color with moderate amounts of active visible carbonation rising quickly from the bottom of the glass and faint golden yellow highlights. The beer has a finger tall foamy white head that slowly reduces to a large patch of medium thick film covering the entire surface of the beer and a medium thick ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Slightly heavier than light aromas of slightly sour/funky wheat with a light aroma of citrus/lemon and hints of briny salt. Just a hint of coriander spice.

T: Upfront there is a moderate flavor of slightly sour wheat malts with a light amount of funkiness and light lingering tartness. That is followed by slightly stronger than light flavors of lemon citrus and coriander spice. Light flavors of briny salt towards the finish.

M: Light bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Light amounts of acidic prickliness are present.

O: Easy to drink, refreshing, and enjoyable though a touch saltier than some of the others in the style. Alcohol is well hidden and I enjoyed the touch of funkiness to this one. Definitely worth grabbing and I could easily have a couple of these in a session.

 

A nice beer to look at, this gose lacks a lot in every other category. Its aroma is not very appealing and is actually kind of a drawback to the beer, and its taste and its aftertaste are both pretty weak.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Delicious

 

 

Not a big fan of this one. Tastes like a slightly tart bud light.