Imperial Concord Grape Gose
Southern Tier Brewing Company

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a Dogfish Head tulip

L: Clear maroon pour with fine sediment. 2 fingers of fluffy white head. Nice lacing.

S: Grape juice... wheat, light funk and spice.

T/F: Semi-sweet concord grape to start followed by a modestly tart gose. Wheat/grains and coriander in the background. Sort of a sparkling grape juice with a bit of salt and tartness to go along with. Light bodied... very drinkable.

O: A sweet/tart gose, and they do hit the Concord Grape pretty nicely. Very drinkable... a good intro gose.

I am continuing my New Southern Tier Beer Sunday (Week 713) by delving into my Bottle Backlog.

From the Bottle: "Imperial Sour Ale Brewed with Concord Grape Juice and Coriander"; "Why the hell not?"

I was curious about what this one was going to be like. I am not a huge Tart/Sour fan, but as a retired US Navy sailor, I do like the saltiness inherent in a Gose. Concord grapes also take me back. Growing up, my maternal grandfather had a Concord grape arbor which he used to grow plump, sweet fruit which we would pick & eat, but they were really for him to make wine in the cellar. His stuff must have been God-awful sweet, but it fermented & he drank it, so to each their own. His son, my uncle, took inspiration and became a home vintner, but I still prefer beer to wine. Onward!

As always, it began with a Pop! of the cap. I kind of enjoy that aspect of bottles since I have a local artist whose medium is beer bottle caps so they all get set aside for her. Following that moment of Zen, I went with a heavy-handed C-Line pour so as to ensure that all adjuncts were in suspension. I watched as it formed just under two fingers of fizzy, foamy, reddish-white (NOT pink) head with low retention. Color was a faintly hazy reddish-purple Amber (SRM = N/A). Hmm. Nose was kind of like opening a jar of Welch's grape jelly in one of those glasses with "The Archies" embossed on it! Suddenly, I was back in 1st Grade with a grape PB&J sammich on white bread in my "Partridge Family" Thermos lunch box! 8=O The concord grape smell was unmistakable, but this was a Gose, NOT a Fruit & Field Beer. 8=( Once more, the taste was tart, NOT sour! 8={} Man, the concord grape juice dominated, but the spices and lactic acid held its inherent sweetness in check. This was a really bizarre drink, stretching from one end of the spectrum to the other. I couldn't make up my mind as to how I felt about it, but it was a dichotomous beer to begin with. Finish was truly in the Twilight Zone between semi-sweet & semi-dry. Pick one, take a sip, wait a moment & see if you don't change your mind. Wotta choice of adjuncts! Wotta day this has become!

 

L: Poured from a bottle to a cylinder glass. Had an odd orange-red color and a slightly hazy consistency. there was a half inch of foamy head that lasted a below average amount of time. OK lacing.

S: A nice aroma of grapes, wheat, spices, and salt.

T: Tasted of bit of wheat (mostly in the finish - overpowered by everything else), a hint of salt (barely noticeable), lots of the advertised grapes, some coriander, citrus (lemon), and light bready quality. An interesting take on the gose flavor. The Concord grapes dominate the taste, but it works. It's a bit overly acidic and sour at first, but it calms down. Tasty.

F: A well-carbonated beer with a lively finish. Medium-bodied.

O: This beer probably isn't for everyone, but if you want something different give it a shot. Drinkable.

 

 

 

 

 

This is the second of the huge gose beers from Southern Tier for me to try. This one I don't have anyone to share with. I'll just have to soldier on.

It pours an odd color - sort of ruddy orange, with some of the grape colors coming through. The aroma is fruity and yeasty. The taste is fruity, somewhat boozy, and tart, as you would expect.

There was some fear than an "imperial" version of a gose would not be any good. They do lose the delicate taste you might normally appreciate, but they replace it with huge sourness and fruity taste that goes way beyond the norm.

Highly recommended. Just be warned, it is a seriously big take on the style.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 1/10/2018. Pours slightly hazy/cloudy medium orange, light reddish/pinkish color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy light pink head with good retention, that reduces to a thin spotty lace cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of tart/tangy red grapes, fruit skin, peach, plum, pear, lemon, red/green apple, red wine, coriander, sea salt, hay, straw, grass, wheat, and white bread dough; with lighter notes of toast, pepper, lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of fruity/acidic yeast, grapes, salt, coriander, and moderate bready malt notes; with solid strength. Taste of tart/tangy red grapes, fruit skin, peach, plum, pear, lemon, red/green apple, red wine, coriander, sea salt, hay, straw, grass, wheat, and white bread dough; with lighter notes of toast, pepper, lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tartness, fruit tang, and light yeast/coriander spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart/tangy red grapes, fruit skin, peach, plum, pear, lemon, red/green apple, red wine, coriander, sea salt, hay, straw, grass, wheat, white bread dough, light pepper/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/acidic yeast, grapes, salt, coriander, and moderate bready malt flavors; with a great malt/tartness and tangy fruit balance; and zero puckering sourness after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from tartness and tangy fruit. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready/acidic/tangy/tannic, and fairly saline balanced mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 8.3%. Overall this is a very good gose. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/acidic yeast, grapes, salt, coriander, and moderate bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the mellowly acidic/tangy/tannic/drying finish. Well balanced Lacto, fruit, coriander, salt, and pale/wheat malts. Not overly salty or lactic. A very enjoyable offering, and well made style example.