Gossamer Golden Ale - Cactus Pear & Brett
Half Acre Beer Company
- From:
- Half Acre Beer Company
- Illinois, United States
- Style:
- Brett Beer
- ABV:
- 4.4%
- Score:
- +7 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 3.7 | pDev: 4.59%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 2
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Jan 11, 2013
- Added:
- Apr 03, 2012
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
NO SCORE
-
-
A dry hopped Blonde Ale with an addition of prickly pear, commonly called cactus fruit and Brettanomyces in the firkin.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by MasterSki from Canada (ON)
3.68/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.68/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Served in a tulip from the hand-pump at Fountainhead.
A - Quick-dissolving white foam settles to a thin collar and a few spots of lace. Lightly hazed pale yellow body.
S - Initially I thought this smelled a lot like Gossamer - I was actually suspicious I had received the regular beer and not the special cask variant. However, letting it sit for a moment and warm up revealed tropical and earthy brettanomyces notes. Still, the main flavors were those of Gossamer's sweet malt backbone and potent dry-hopping. As it warms up there's an odd vegetal note, but it didn't seem much like prickly pear flesh - perhaps they used the whole fruit in the cask?
T - Less overt hop character, with more sweet malts mid-palate as well as some lightly toasted grain. Finishes with a mildly funky and slightly medicinal brett note. Still, it's largely Gossamer in character.
M - Smooth body, dry and mildly tannic fruit husk texture, lower cask-style carbonation, and some dryness in the finish.
D - Easy to drink, but a fairly tepid attempt at a wild. The aggressive dry-hop character seems at odds with the wild elements of the beer, and the use of prickly pear cactus doesn't add much depth. The aroma actually reminded me a little of the infected can of AXL Pale Ale, but this tasted much better. Not a bad attempt by Half Acre - was the brett added directly to the cask? Perhaps it needs a bit more time to work (and for the hops to dissipate).
Apr 06, 2012A - Quick-dissolving white foam settles to a thin collar and a few spots of lace. Lightly hazed pale yellow body.
S - Initially I thought this smelled a lot like Gossamer - I was actually suspicious I had received the regular beer and not the special cask variant. However, letting it sit for a moment and warm up revealed tropical and earthy brettanomyces notes. Still, the main flavors were those of Gossamer's sweet malt backbone and potent dry-hopping. As it warms up there's an odd vegetal note, but it didn't seem much like prickly pear flesh - perhaps they used the whole fruit in the cask?
T - Less overt hop character, with more sweet malts mid-palate as well as some lightly toasted grain. Finishes with a mildly funky and slightly medicinal brett note. Still, it's largely Gossamer in character.
M - Smooth body, dry and mildly tannic fruit husk texture, lower cask-style carbonation, and some dryness in the finish.
D - Easy to drink, but a fairly tepid attempt at a wild. The aggressive dry-hop character seems at odds with the wild elements of the beer, and the use of prickly pear cactus doesn't add much depth. The aroma actually reminded me a little of the infected can of AXL Pale Ale, but this tasted much better. Not a bad attempt by Half Acre - was the brett added directly to the cask? Perhaps it needs a bit more time to work (and for the hops to dissipate).
Reviewed by GbVDave from Illinois
3.91/5 rDev +5.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.91/5 rDev +5.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Served in a tulip at Fountainhead 4/2/2012.
A: Gorgeous cask pour. Cloudy, bright golden color with a creamy/frothy bright white head on top that hangs around for quite a while. A few whisps of lace were left behind.
S: Really kinda mild. A faint amount of hops mixed with a a faint amount of fruit. Became a little more assertive as it came up to temp.
T: See above but the taste hits the ground running a little faster than the smell. Obviously Brett-y.
M: Dry and spicy with a long lasting prickly finish.
O: Pretty cool experiment. I got there at 4pm and actually got the first glass out of the firkin. A little too cold for my liking at first, but it didn't take very long to warm up. I'd love to see how this opens up and changes after a few hours of getting air at it.
Apr 03, 2012A: Gorgeous cask pour. Cloudy, bright golden color with a creamy/frothy bright white head on top that hangs around for quite a while. A few whisps of lace were left behind.
S: Really kinda mild. A faint amount of hops mixed with a a faint amount of fruit. Became a little more assertive as it came up to temp.
T: See above but the taste hits the ground running a little faster than the smell. Obviously Brett-y.
M: Dry and spicy with a long lasting prickly finish.
O: Pretty cool experiment. I got there at 4pm and actually got the first glass out of the firkin. A little too cold for my liking at first, but it didn't take very long to warm up. I'd love to see how this opens up and changes after a few hours of getting air at it.
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