Country Western Volume 5
West Sixth Brewing Company

 

 

 

Working on their fifth collaboration, the breweries of West Sixth and Country Boy hit Lexington's Craft Beer Week running with a German-styled gose that layers its sour and salty taste with exotic ginger spice and bright lime acidity for a taste that would find favor with any thai dinner table.

Pale gold, hazy and breaming with sparkling effervescence, the beer's popping action stalls its froth formation and staying power but creates a mouthwatering scent with citrus, cider, wine, spice and a delicate earthen perfume. Soft and malty on the early palate, the beer's wheaten backbone offers a light breadiness that's of sourdough and dry pastry.

But as the flavors shift on the middle palate, the beer's sweetness and creamy breadiness rapidly dissolves while the natural fruit flavors of lime, lemon, green apple, white grape, gooseberry and under ripened berries enliven the tastebuds with brisk acidity and a clean fruit cocktail. But the additional layer of lime shifts the balance sharply to the citrus side and the ginger gives a perfumy taste and an exotic spice that links with the briney, musty finish and calms its earthen charm.

Medium light, semidry and finishing with a spicy and sour balance, the sourness wins that war as the spicy side of taste takes a backseat to the fruit. A short echo of damp burlap follows while the lime continues to deliver the character of margarita and gin cocktails into a highly refreshing, drinkable and thirst quenching afterglow.