Grapefruit Gose
Tin Man Brewing Company

apparently also known as "forbidden grapefruit gose" this is a tasty and rightly fruited gose from these guys, my first of their beers. the citric acidity of the pink grapefruit flesh and zest goes great with the rather high lactic acidity from the souring, but there is enough fruity sweetness in here and wheat malt structure for this to not feel harsh in any way. furthermore, the salt seems to add body and enhance the grapefruit, making this supremely refreshing for how puckery it is, and gives it drinkability well beyond what is normal for me in this style. the fruit tastes really natural, which helps a lot, and there is quite a bit of it, summery tasting and juicy. the beer is simple but well constructed, appropriately light, and very clean on the lacto side, not cheesy or funky in a bad way like some of these can be. my lady and i both really liked this one, and she doesnt even really care for grapefruit generally speaking. it looks like these guys have quite a few our beers out there, which has me curious if they have them all this well dialed in. this is a great alternative to one of those lousy grapefruit shandys that are so popular right now...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the traditional gose style trends citrusy and cidery, the Tin Man brewers opt to prod these flavors along by layering the sourness, floral coriander and gentle salt additions with complementing grapefruit juice for added brightness and bitterness.

Hazy canary and with a faint wisping froth, the tart ale sheds its acidity on the nose with the strong scent of grapefruit but also dry cider, white wine, lime, lemon, green berry and a brisk must of the sea. Its taste is gentle with sweetness, carrying a mild bready taste and light confectioner's sweetness on the front of the tongue.

The bulk of taste circulates around the sour impact on the middle palate and that firm white grapefruit flavor. Crabapple, lemon and lime, gooseberry and sharp chardonnay all play out with the brightness of floral orange and the earthiness of brine playing counter to both the fruit and acidity.

Light but with a constant undercurrent of wheat malt for creaminess and sour support, the beer's low-lying sweetness keeps the acidity seeming candy-like. Grapefruit warheads now seem a thing as the ale trails with the bitterness of grapefruit peel, a hint of salinity and a thirst-stripping sourness.