Gygax
Omnipollo

 

Of all of the tart & sour ales currently available, I like the Goses best. Their inherent saltiness reminds me of being at sea, something that I did as a US Navy sailor for 15.25 years before taking early retirement nearly 22 years ago. My embarkation on The CANQuest (tm) beCAN as a lark, but it has become an all-CANsuming faction of my hobby for over 16 years! Tempus fugits.

From the CAN: "Gygax Grapefruit Tonic Gose Ale Brewed with Grapefruit, Quinine & Lactose Sugar"; "Ahead of the Game".

I was very CANurious about this one with all of its adjuncts, but since its base is wheat, I did some in-CANgitation before the Crack! of the vent. My aggro Glug produced a finger of rolling, roiling, fizzy, foamy, bone-white head that quickly faded away into wisps. Color was a slightly-hazy Straw-Yellow (SRM = > 2, < 4). Nose was quite odd, with notes of citrusy lime & grapefruit to acCANpony the salty tanginess. Hmm. Mouthfeel was thin-to-medium, big for the style. The taste was unusual for a Gose in that it was less tart than usual, but more citrusy, while retaining the style's saltiness. Mmm. It had a pronounced grapefruit-lime flavor along with a pleasant saltiness as well as a slight vanilla-like sweetness. I found it to be quite accessible & very quaffable. This would be really good on a hot, humid Summer day. Finish was lightly tart & semi-dry as a result. YMMV.

 

weird they are contract brewing some omnipollo beer in the states now. i guess i am happy to have it more available, but these cans havent quite had the same magic to them as the stuff made overseas. this is a pretty neat idea, but i dont think the execution is amazing, especially compared with some of the other gose types i have had from these guys in the past. it pours a thin and headless pale murky brass color, with some bubbles in the liquid but no head forming at all. smells tart, lightly chemical to me, lots of minerals, raw wheat, some natural citrus, a definite medicinal tonic sort of bitterness, maybe even kind of hoppy, just weird, but not unappealing. the flavor is good, very much has a cocktail vibe to it, grapefruit more obvious too, but the quinine does a lot in here, almost serves to numb the tongue for a second, neat but weird, especially with the sourness this has, moderate but enough, pretty clean too. the grain is light, the lactose isnt overdone, and the flavors come together uniquely well, but this is poorly refined, lacking the texture and carbonation the flavors seem to demand, and something quite cool comes across as underwhelming as a result. seems like a better idea than a beer, but this is the kind of thing omnipollo has pulled off many times before, so i had higher hopes here. a nice pairing with a pot of clams, and a fun one to share with my wife yesterday, i cant complain...

 

 

 

 

 

A: The beer is relatively clear yellow in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a quarter finger high bright white head that left a large patch of bubbles on the surface and a collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Light to moderate aromas of quinine are present in the nose along with notes of grapefruit.
T: The taste follows the smell and has lots of flavors of quinine (similar to what you would expect from tonic water) along with a bit stronger notes of grapefruit. There is a faint amount of sourness.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer lives up to its name and tastes just like tonic water with an added dash of grapefruit juice. It is light and refreshing to drink.

Serving type: can

I had this beer on-tap in a mug at Special Brews in Lynnwood, WA.

Appearance: light yellow hue with the tiniest touch of haze and a thin layer of white foam. Attractive enough, and about what you'd expect from the style.

Smell: quite tart, with some sweet and fruity notes and just a dash of funk. It's pretty enticing.

Taste: bright sourness with plenty of fruity character, backed up with a bit of a bitter bite and enough sweetness to engender a candylike flavor. I can see how people call this a soda-pop, but basically it's just a darn good sour.

Mouthfeel: medium-light body with a good level of carbonation and a decent level of creaminess for the style.

Overall: a massively thirst-quenching sour with just enough funk to be interesting and enough sweetness to be balanced. I really like it.

With the aid of tonic, quinine, alcohol and milk sugars, the brewers at Omnipollo are going to make sure that we all sleep like a baby tonight. Their distinctively spiced sour ale does so with a rounded taste of gin and tonic with a margarita twist.

But leading through dreams of dungeons and dragons, Gygax pours with a lemony golden color and slighted with a sprinkle of haze. Its airy and frothy cap entices the nose with a crisp and tangy scent of citrus, cider, white wine and green berries. A gentle must of funk precedes an initial taste of taffy, light cream and candy for a brief key lime pie memory.

The brisk and acidic ale washes over the tastebuds with a fruity taste that hinges on lime, lemon, grapefruit, kiwi, honeydew, white grape, crabapple and gooseberry. Trending playfully sour, the fruits turn gently dry and minerally with the crispness of seltzer and tonic leading the way. A mild earthen character of cork and burlap adorn the finish while a light piney bitterness awaits.

Light, crisp and highly refreshing, the beer's balance for sourness comes via a creamy sweetness from lactose that almost interfered with the beer's utmost drinkable gin and tonic nature. But its a delicious and dry ale that easily takes the place of gin cocktails or margaritas at any outdoor summer occasion.

 

Great beer, not sure what was going on with the couple brutal ratings. This is great, very big grapefruit, sour, tart, quenching, nice full body, subtle salt, slight bittnerness, tastes like a cocktail, very nice.

16 ounce can into tulip glass, canned in 3/2019. Pours fairly hazy pale golden yellow color with a 2 finger dense and fluffy off white head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice dense foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big juicy/tart/tangy red grapefruit, lemon, lime, citrus peel/zest, peach, pear, melon, red/green apple, white grape/wine, tonic water, coriander, sea salt, hay, straw, grass, vanilla, cream, wheat, cracker, white bread dough, light peppercorn/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of grapefruit, fruity/acidic yeast, quinine, coriander, sea salt, lactose, and pale/wheat malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big juicy/tart/tangy red grapefruit, lemon, lime, citrus peel/zest, peach, pear, melon, red/green apple, white grape/wine, tonic water, coriander, sea salt, hay, straw, grass, vanilla, cream, wheat, cracker, white bread dough, light peppercorn/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tartness, fruit tang; light citrus peel bitterness, and coriander spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart/tangy red grapefruit, lemon, lime, citrus peel/zest, peach, pear, melon, red/green apple, white grape/wine, tonic water, coriander, sea salt, hay, straw, grass, vanilla, cream, wheat, cracker, white bread dough, light peppercorn/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of grapefruit, fruity/acidic yeast, quinine, coriander, sea salt, lactose, and pale/wheat malt flavors; with an awesome malt/tartness and tangy fruit balance; with zero puckering flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering tartness, tangy fruit, and carbonation. Medium-plus carbonation and medium body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/grainy, and fairly crisp/acidic/tangy/saline balanced mouthfeel that is fantastic. Zero warming alcohol for 6%. Overall this is an outstanding fruit gose. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of grapefruit, fruity/acidic yeast, quinine, coriander, sea salt, lactose, and pale/wheat malt flavors; very smooth, refreshing, and fairly crisp to drink with the mellowly acidic/tangy/drying finish; not overly lactic or salty. Awesome balance of juicy grapefruit, quinine, coriander, salt, and Lacto complexity; with a great lactose, and pale/wheat malt backbone against acidity. Mild residual sweetness with crisp dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and impressive spot on style example as expected of the brewery.

 

 

This stuff absolutely sucks. Paid almost $6 for a can at total wine Greenville SC. Very little grapefruit. No smoothness you would expect to have lactose,has Some kind of fruit flavor, but tastes terrible and had one of the worst aftertaste I’ve ever experienced in a beer. Almost like a goody powder! Wish I could give it a negative bc I damn sure would!!!!!

 

Meh. It’s supposedly a “Grapefruit Tonic Gose” with quinine, but damned if I could detect any bitterness. Basically an adult grapefruit soda, and not even notably grapefruity at that, just typical Gose tartness. Refreshing enough, but if I want a soda I’ll get a soda. It wouldn’t even rank high among tonic waters, what with the imperceptible quinine.