Nino’s Prickly Pears
Dock Street Brewery - South

 

New 4 x 12 Stable Street Dock Hands Beer Sunday (Week 689) is progressing nicely and this marks the seCANd-to-last installment for this phase of today's evolution. I read a local gasbag proclaiming that Goses are now at the same level of proliferation as (A)IPAs & they are therefore passé. 8=O Who are these self-proclaimed experts, anyway? Hey, I will be the first to admit that Gose is not my go-to style, but to pooh-pooh what others like under the auspices of journalism?!? I have found that since I stepped down as a writer, I am increasingly disinterested in reading others' musings. I CANnot tell you the last time that I bought a beer magazine. It is like the old saw: I read where heavy and repeated imbibing CAN have negative effects on one's health, so I gave up ... on reading!

From the CAN: "Gose brewed with Prickly Pear"; "'Beer has virtue only in giving its victims more of the good-natured stupidity of the idiot and less of the demoniac frenzy of the madman.' - Lyman Beecher"; "Nino’s Prickly Pears is inspired by the enchanting world of Sicily, the birthplace of Dock Street founder Rosemarie Certo. Pours a deep pink with a similarly-tinged white head. A mild aroma of tart fruit leads to clear flavors of prickly pear and hints of watermelon. Light bodied and dry, the slight sweetness in this beer is balanced by a tart finish typical of the Gose style. Nino’s Prickly Pears is an escape from winter; evocative of semitropical Sicily and its scorching sun."

I beCAN by lightly inverting this beer while still in the CAN since haziness is okay in the style. My Crack! of the vent gave me some light foaming so my efforts had paid off. I followed all of this up with an inverted Glug that raised a very quick, brief two fingers of pinkish off-white head with low retention, quickly reverting to wisps. Color was a slightly-hazy pinkish Yellow-Gold (SRM = 4 - 5 or N/A). Nose smelled like the spray of salt in heavy seas that I fell in love with in the Navy! There was an underlying tartness, but it was salty! Mouthfeel was thin-to-medium, actually big for the style. The taste was lightly tart, very much of watermelon, but without the usual cloying sweetness. I do not know what a prickly pear should taste like, but this was tasty! It was not hardcore tart and the flavors worked well together to make for a pleasant, easy-drinking beer. That said, 6.0% is on the high side for the style, so you should bear that in mind as a quaff CANsideration. Finish was semi-dry, but on the edge of semi-sweet! I got hints of honey to go along with the watermelon & salt. Mmm.

 

 

Pours a really lovely toned down ruby red color, little to no head. Scent is strong with fruity notes such as kiwi and raspberry and honey like sweetness. Taste mellows down the fruit a bit - kiwi at the front, red raspberry at the back end, faint notes of dark fried fruit, moderate honey like sweetness. Lighter side of medium, could use a touch more carbonation. Unique, exciting and refreshing - would enjoy more.