Guava Lava
King Harbor Brewing Co.

 

 

 

This was recommended by Gabe at Plaza Liquors in Tucson, as I buzzed through on a last minute New Year's Eve sour-spree. What a wonderful surprise! My knee-jerk response upon first sip was "this tastes like Strawberry Quik". It pretty much stayed that way. Kinda milky, and fruity. I've never had anything like it.

 

Got in a trade from RaulMondesi. 16 ounce can into tulip glass, no can dating. Pours moderately hazy/cloudy golden amber color with a 1 finger fairly dense and rocky white head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of juicy/lightly tart/tangy guava, passion fruit, lemon, lime, orange, peach, pear, red/green apple, melon, hay, straw, grass, sea salt, wheat, cracker, white bread, light lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of fruity/acidic yeast, guava, salt, and pale/wheat malt notes; with solid strength. Taste of juicy/lightly tart/tangy guava, passion fruit, lemon, lime, orange, peach, pear, red/green apple, melon, hay, straw, grass, sea salt, wheat, cracker, white bread, light lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Light fruity/lactic tartness and fruit tang on the finish. Lingering notes of guava, passion fruit, lemon, lime, orange, peach, pear, red/green apple, melon, hay, straw, grass, sea salt, wheat, cracker, white bread, light lacto funk, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/acidic yeast, guava, salt, and pale/wheat malt flavors; with a great malt/tartness and tangy fruit balance; with zero puckering flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from tartness, tangy fruit, and carbonation. Medium-high carbonation and light-medium body; with a very smooth, moderately bready/grainy, fairly acidic/tangy, and lightly saline balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 5%. Overall this is a very good Gose. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/acidic yeast, guava, salt, and pale/wheat malt flavors; very smooth and refreshing to drink with the mildly acidic/tangy finish, not overly lactic/salty. Very flavorful and not watery for the ABV. Not as huge on fruit or acidity as I expected, but this fits the style just fine. Nice balance of Lacto, fruit, salt, and pale/wheat malts. No detectable smoke from the salt at all, but it didn't matter. A very enjoyable offering, and well made style example otherwise.