Sour Mash Wheat
Moonlight Brewing Company

 

 

On-tap at Beachwood BBQ

Slightly cloudy golden orange color with a white head. Tart lemony/lactic aroma to it with a slight funkiness. Grass and wheat aromas are prominent and there is a light sweetness of bread. Pretty simple aroma. The flavor has a touch of metal up front, but otherwise a nice tartness to go with the wheat and soft malt characteristics. A little bit of grass, maybe some yeast flavor, too. A nice lemon zest flavor all the way through.

 

Served on-draught into a stem-flute at Beachwood BBQ in Seal Beach, California. Reviewed from notes. Cost was 6 or 7 dollars.

A: Pours a one finger head of white colour, slight cream, fair thickness, and decent retention. Colour is a clear vibrant yellow.

Sm: Wheat, light bacteria, and clean malts. A mild to moderate strength aroma.

T: Light sourness with a kick. Wheat as foundation. Clean but puckerworthy. Balanced, if simple. Built decently for a sour, but there's nothing unique or special here. Neither subtle nor complex. Enjoyable and pleasant.

Mf: Smooth and wet. Nicely thick without being overbearing. Adequately carbonated.

Dr: Drinkable - especially for a sour. Enjoyable yet simple. I like it, but I don't know that I'd have it again. There are better examples of the style.

It's listed here as a Gose. This ought to be crosschecked; it was nothing like what I had in Leipzig nor do I remember getting any salt from the taste.

B-

 

 

Shockingly sour. Really, it tastes like only a slightly diluted mix of lemon and vinegar. Woodiness gives an edge to the teeth. Quite a robust bitterness takes over and that ends the short life of the taste. It's bitter and sour, thin yet sharp, with a vinegar nose. Clear golden color in the glass.

It's hard to know what to do with a beer so far out of the usual spectrum of flavors. I find it totally undrinkable, even compared to the Beliner Weisses and another Gose I've tried.

 

 

On tap at Monk's Kettle, 10 oz. pour in a flared pilsner flute.

Hazy pastel yellow orange, noticeable carbonation, tight white head of foam. Spotty foam with some crescent rings of lace around the edges.

Some lacto sharpness in the nose, wet grains, lemon, and trace sulfur.

Bright sourness, very lemony, clean and crisp with a wheaty tang in the middle. Really pops at first, then you get acclimated to the level of tart lemon sourness, and it's very thirst quenching. Light and crisp feel. Didn't get any salt flavor associated with Gose, just a dry finish. It had definite Berliner Weisse traits, reminding me of an amped up cousin of Bells Oarsman, another sour mash wheat.

A - Served a cloudy golden-yellow color with a thin layer of spotty white frothy head. The head fades down fairly quickly leaving behind barely any lacing.

S - Aroma is full of sour smells, with some wheat, tart lemon, lots of funk, hay, and a bit of lager yeast.

T - Starts off with sour wheat, tart lemon zest, and some acidic flavors. Through the middle some hay, funkiness, farmhouse flavors, and some lager yeast. The finish is full of sour and tart flavors with more lemon and wheat and funky elements that linger.

M - Medium-light bodied with mild carbonation. Smooth with a fairly sharp sourness and pucking tartness.

D - Very drinkable. The first sip is quite sharp, but once you know what to expect it is very enjoyable. I like the combination of funkiness and sour flavors.

This is a beer I really wanted to like, but I don't think its quite there yet- I also wouldn't call it a Gose as I'm pretty sure there is no salt or herbs. This is basically a pale wheat where the grain has been allowed to sour before fermentation, producing lactic acid among other things. I love the idea, the problem is that it turned out a little odd. The color is quite strange- very pale straw at the bottom of the glass and darker golden at top. Cloudy throughout, and absolutely no head. You don't see many two-toned beers. Smells very grainy and slightly sour, with a dry, malty, grapenut-like smell. The taste is similar- slightly sour, but very grainy, and even a bit chalky. I'd like to see this one evolve through some more iterations.

Pint at the Gourmet Haus Staudt in Redwood City, CA. $5 a glass. One of the few places to get Moonlight in the Bay Area. Worth a stop.

A: Comes as a hazy straw-yellow body capped with a finger of off-white head. Retention is decent; the head collapses into a thin ring.

S: Lactic sourness, a touch of banana, yeasty funk, lemon zest. It reminds me of a berliner weiss; the few goses I've had have been saltier. Nonetheless, it was quite solid.

T: A clean, refreshing flavor. Lemon zest imparts a slight earthiness that adds some character to the light lactic sourness. I enjoy the touch of yeasty funk in the finish. If I'm rating this to a gose, then Cascade does the style quite a bit better: theirs are saltier and have more spice presence to them, as well as a more complex character. This was satisfying but nowhere near exceptional.

M: One of the strongest characteristics of the beer. It's light-bodied, with lively carbonation. There's a tartness to it that works well with the sourness. None of the flavors are dominant. It's very refreshing, crisp, and clean.

D: I liked it; I'd get it again. I wouldn't sing its praises from the rooftops, though.

Ordered this at The Monk's Kettle in San Francisco on Friday (09-10-2010) night. The following review is based on notes taken at that time.

Served in an 11oz. pilsner glass.

Appearance: Body was cloudy and very pale yellow. A thin, white film sat on top and clung to the glass perimeter. Streams of carbonation could be seen rising along the edges. Very odd, but so is the style (this was my first gose).

Smell: Lager yeast, lemon rind, something sour - not quite brett, not quite vinegar; lactic acid maybe? - and a touch of honey. I believe I smelled wheat too, but it doesn't appear in my notes. Whatever that sour smell was, it sure made my mouth water! Wish I could articulate better.

Taste: Whoa! Wheat, lager yeast, and sourness all meld together in amazing harmony! Tart fruits and honey lead the way, followed by wheat and juniper, and then capped off by a tart, cranberry-lemon finish. Unbelievably good, and so damn different than anything I've ever had before!

Mouthfeel: Light, very flavorful, softly carbonated, tart, and balanced. I love how this beer is put together!

Drinkability: This beer blew me away! I've never had a such a light beer with so much complexity and flavor. Really interesting and deep all the way through. I can't say enough about it. I've got to try some more goses. If you ever come across Moonlight Sour Mash Wheat, order it!

FIrst off, I had this on tap in San Francisco at the Monk's Kettle and it was listed as "Sour Mash Wheat Lager", but I couldn't find the exact match on BA, so I assume this is the same beer as the "Sour Mash Wheat".

A - Yellowish straw, crisp color but yet not quite 100% clearly see-thru, ever so slightly cloudy, my friend said almost like a weak White Ale in color.

S - definitely sourness, tart lemon zest, a little bit of orange, ever so slight metallic

M - a light beer like this should not feel this heavy in the mouth for a 5.2%.

T - Starts with a tart mild sour taste...for the style I was hoping that mid sip it would mellow out on the sourness and that wheat flavor would come thru, but unfortunately it did not. It finished almost with a metallic flavor, which I wouldn't think is intended, but this place in San Fran takes pride in their beer selections, so I cant believe it to be their tap-lines.

D - This beer is a one-and-done for me. I'm not HUGE on the sour style, so perhaps my preference is skewed, but I had really hoped for a well-blended wheat and sour, but it didn't come thru that way, but I always respect the ambitious attempts of brewers to blend the styles

Draft at Flavor. This seems to fall somewhere between a pale wheat beer and a berliner weisse, though apparently fermented with lager yeast. Pale blond body, hazy and unfiltered. Head retention is exceptionally good. The aroma is pretty mild, grainy and soapy with a lemon-lime citrus character and mild lactic sourness. The palate mirrors the aroma, lemony tartness up-front with a firm backbone of doughy malt. There's a mild grainy astringency and very light lactic sourness. The finish is brief but clean. Solid and refreshing, this is a great session beer.

On-tap at Flavor Bistro. Served in a stange-like glass.

A - Poured with a finger of soapy foam that leaves behind intricate lacework and a thin cap. Unfiltered wheat body that is a dark peach juice color.

S - Hard to describe. Savory character with lightly salted yeast, sharp wheat, sweet pale malt, and a touch of sweet lime character. Maybe a bit understated, but otherwise interesting and pleasant.

T - Taste is more lemon sourness mixed with unmalted wheat. Finish is yeasty, and there's a bit of "generic" beer aftertaste (much like how I felt about Reality Czeck). The lactic character keeps it from being average.

M - Zesty, but thankfully not harsh carbonation. Medium-light body that is soft and refreshing. Clean finish.

D - This was pretty easy to drink, and my half-pour went down quickly. Not sure what style this was - some RB reviews mention Berliner Weiss, but I also get a Gose kind of vibe. Would drink again for sure if I saw it.