Gose Guayaba
Casa Bruja

A: Pours a hazy pale straw yellow in color with moderate to heavy amounts of active visible carbonation rising quickly from the bottom of the glass and faint bright yellow + lemon yellow colored highlights. The beer has a three finger fizzy foamy bright white head that reduces to a large patch of thin film covering the entire surface of the beer and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Minimal amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate aromas of sour wheat malts with a minimal amount of sweetness and a slightly heavier than light amount of lacto lemon citrus. There are light aromas of guava, coriander, and brininess.

T: Upfront there are moderate flavors of sour wheat malts with a minimal amount of sweetness and a slightly heavier than light amount of lacto lemon citrus. That is followed by slightly heavier than moderate flavors of guava along with light flavors of coriander. Light amounts of brininess. Overall the beer is moderately tart and slightly acidic which lingers through the finish.

M: Light to medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Light to moderate amounts of acidic prickliness.

O: Easy to drink with well hidden alcohol and a tart refreshing mouthfeel. Enjoyable with just enough saltiness, tartness, and tropical fruit.

 

A: The beer is hazy yellow in color. It poured with a quarter finger high white head that died down but consistently left a thin layer covering the surface.
S: Light to moderate aromas of sourness are present in the nose.
T: The taste is somewhat sour and has lots of flavors of guava along with hints of coriander and slit bits of saltiness.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied and a bit tart on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is very refreshing and has nice tropical aromas and flavors from the guava.

Serving type: bottle

 

As the popularity of gose wash over the beerscape, even brewers of Panama come under the spell of Northern German sour ale. With the spice of salt, coriander and a moderate acidic tone, it seems that the brewers of Casa Bruja are among the few breweries who understand how to make a proper Gose. Yet with the generous addition of pink guava and they show that the classic style still has room for adaptation.

Pouring a pale pinkish, peach and goldenrod color, then cast is a hazy slightly matte finish, the frothy Gose Guayaba carries a raw grain and tropical fruit must across the nose. While suggestions of sour citrus, ripe guava, light brine and burlap ebb and flow through the aromatic senses, a grain sweetened taste of whole wheat, cereal and germ tease the early palate with bready sweetness, saltwater taffy and sourdough.

As the maltier influence begin to fade across the middle palate, the sourness gains intensity with the familiarity of lime, lemon, green apple, white grape, gooseberry and that unmistakable guava taste that rests of passionfruit, mango and agave. Light on hops, the sourness carries the balance while remnants of wheat malt remain. A rounded salinity is redolent with the brine of the sea while its coriander influence add a perfume of orange peel to the late palate.

Lightly musty and remiss of damp burlap, the medium bodied sour ale trails into fruity, floral, spicy and musty fruit peel finish with bold suggestions of white wine, Hawaiian punch and cider coming with a woodsy scathe and a briny, bready after palate with an undercurrent of sourdough and tropical succulence remaining steadfast.