Gose of sorts, brewed with – wait for it – blackcurrant, mango, marshmallow, vanilla and milk sugar, and this is only one of several comparable versions… This is in any case a combination I haven’t encountered before and which reminds me more of a postmodern kind of hazy or even milkshake IPA than any form of Gose, but anything goes these days, of course. Mousy, pale pinkish-tinged off-white, open, irregular head, cloudy ruby red robe with lilac hue. Sweet aroma, with a very strong cassis (blackcurrant syrup) impression, children’s forest fruit yoghurt, ‘Fristi’ (a Dutch milk-based pink soft drink with fruit), stewed and sugared rhubarb, blueberry crumble, fig and port sorbet, plum compote, mango chutney, cheese cake, touch of lavender-scented soap. Soft and simple but clear tartness in the mouth, notably lactic-yoghurty but with pronounced fruitiness as well, again reminiscent of blackcurrant and less so of mango, touch of ripe blue plum and black cherry, medium carbonation, soft and soapy mouthfeel with lactose creaminess to it but the sourness keeps drying the whole and providing balance against the sweetness; sesame seed-like spicy accent in the finish, sorbet- and yoghurt-like impressions remaining evident with a red fruit sweetness to it. Sour and sweet with more emphasis on the sweetness than on the sourness – too sweet, perhaps and, in spite of having had other fruited Goses, this one is the hardest one to categorize as such that I had to date, we are very far removed from Ritterguts and other traditionally-oriented German Goses here. In all, still a fun beer though, a bit childish perhaps, but very easygoing in spite of the complicated premise and cleverly made, admittedly.

Hazy APA from a can shared at First Great Timternational Beer Geek Tasting. Mousy, snow white, loose and quickly opening, rather thin head on a milky, yolk-yellow beer with vague greenish tinge. Aroma very dank and sweaty, stale lime juice, unripe pear, lemon flesh, withering dill, green melon, dough, cheese spread, starfruit, overripe shallot, olive oil. Sweetish and sourish onset, softly carbonated, hinting at lime, starfruit and green apple, soft, fluffy and soapy mouthfeel; doughy malt soil drenched in dank hoppiness, aromatic with notes of lime, olive oil and onion, but also depositing a powdery, somewhat peppery bitterness to the end phase. This would make it qualify as an IPA for me, but apparently it was intended as an APA within the New England idiom – in which actual hop bitterness remains understated compared with hop aroma anyway, so one can wonder what sense it makes to distinguish between New England IPA and New England APA… Regardless, this beer delivers precisely what its name promises: a very dank nose by all standards, no wonder tderoeck used it as an example to explain the meaning of ‘dank’ specifically in a beery context to the less geeky participants of this highly enjoyable tasting.

Draught, taster. Sampled on the 16/03/2019 at Barcelona Beer Festival 2019, (L´Hospitalet, Spain). Pitch black, liquor appearance with a low tan head. Aroma is bourbon, vanilla, cinnamon and black chocolate. Taste is maple, nuts and vanilla leading to a medium bourbon finish. Boozy warm finish. Slightly spicy. Next one please!

On Tap, @BBF2019, Barcelona 16/03/2019
Color negro corona de espuma beige, aromas cacao, con notas torrefactas, regaliz, sabor torrefactos notas quemadas cafe, cuerpo denso, rica.

Thanks Nozomi for sharing the bottle! Poured into a taster showing white straw with sparse white foam. The nose shows moderately intense notes of adzuki, light pineapple, guava, and coconut - exactly like a pina colada! The palate is well carbonated and medium bodied. Moderate sweetness and lightly creamy with the same forward flavors on the palate to come together like a pina colada.

turbid light white golden color. Big white head that quickly disappears. I am back in Cancun for Christmas holidays and time to have some pina coladas midday on the beach. More carbonated than more PCs, but that pineapple juice, coconut notes. Wow. This replicates a PC so well