Lost Nation Gose

The Stats
Style: Gose
ABV: 4.5%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.01/5
- RateBeer: 3.46/5

"A traditional German beer style that was all but extinct 30 years ago. An amazingly refreshing beer brewed with coriander and sea salt. The tart, dry finish combined with the hint of salt and citrus leaves your palate craving another sip."

Pours a hazy, murky light yellow with less than a finger of white head. It looks like a New England IPA.

It smells like salt water with seaweed and even some oysters. Some small fruity notes of lemon and an herbal quality (maybe the coriander) are here as well. Wheat and dough round things out.

The first wave of flavor is tart salt which is nowhere near as much of an overpowering ocean effect as it was on the aroma. This is good because I was fearing having to drink 16oz of sea water. The tartness also has the aforementioned lemon zest quality. Absent from the aroma, but here on the taste, are some tea leaves and fresh mint, which does go along with some of the herbaceous notes I got from the aroma. That salt water taste is back on the finish, but a bigger salt presence prevents it from being just a mouthful of the Atlantic. Some extra lemon and even some lime put a cap on this one.

Mouthfeel is light, but full. When held for a moment, a little bit of carbonation dances around the tongue, but otherwise it is relatively calm. It was surprisingly refreshing after a shaky start, but thanks to the lemon/lime finish, it had me reaching for another sip.

I am writing this review on the hottest day of the year (so far) and Lost Nation Gose is proving to be a welcome companion on such a warm day. I was skeptical after such a nautical aroma, but luckily the taste offered more than a day at the beach. It's a standard, easy-drinking, flavorful Gose that should pair well with the Summer months.

Rating
7.6/10

Sixpoint Jammer

The Stats
Style: Gose
ABV: 4.0%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 3.7/5
- RateBeer: 3.05/5

"...The Mad Scientists kept tweakin’ that Jammer till it rocked so hard. Bygone brewers, repping the Sixpoint star, provided the concept and our friends at Jacobsen Salt hooked us up with the key ingredient. It’s salty, it’s sour, and it’s slammin’. It’s Mad Science."

Pours a transparent pale yellow with tons of carbonation bubbles and less than a finger of white head that leaves no lacing.

Smells like a lot of generic macro lagers with a wet grain aroma. Not much here in terms of salt or tartness, but they do have a small presence.

Thankfully the taste tells a different story than the aroma. A tart, funky flavor comes up first and is followed by the salt which was non-existent on the aroma. The salt is not overdone and doesn't make you pucker on each sip. There's even a briney, pickle juice-like flavor too, but I find it appealing as it compliments the sour qualities of the other flavors. As for tartness, there's a small lemon or lime taste to this too which adds to the refreshing nature of everything else.

Mouthfeel is incredibly light with plenty of carbonation bubbles to dance around the tongue. The tart, sour flavors don't dry out your mouth which I think is made possible by some of the refreshing, fruity notes. This one was made for the Summer.

Jammer almost had me nervous with a lackluster aroma, but it made money where it counts with a great flavor profile that is complex for a 4.0% Gose. As we approach June and hot weather on the horizon, it might be a challenge to find a flavor-packed session beer, but Jammer has got you covered. Sixpoint beers have a reputation for being a tad pricey, but if you want a beer to pound outside on a 90-degree day, then this one should be high on your list.

Rating
8.0/10

Off Color Brewing Troublesome

The Stats
Style: Gose
ABV: 4.30%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 3.8/5
- RateBeer: 3.47/5

A combination of a wheat beer and a sour beer fermented solely with lactobacillus, Troublesome is Off Color Brewing's attempt at the Gose style which has seen a resurgence in recent years.

Pours a transparent straw yellow with little carbonation. There was maybe a quarter inch of fizzy white head that didn't stick around long.

Lots of salt and coriander on the aroma with a yeasty character and a touch of banana.

I think this owes more to its wheat beer foundation than its sour component.  A noticeable pale malt or pilsner malt is actually what strikes me as most prominent, but not far behind are some breadiness and lemon. It's not acidic, but definitely a lemon taste. Sourness is making itself know, but it's not doing so in a tart way, but closer to a beer that is starting to go bad. I'm not sure if the small amount of mouth-puckering is from the bacteria or the addition of salt. Either way, it's not pleasant. The finish and aftertaste retain the sourness, but it's mostly pilsner malt and it doesn't leave you wanting much more than your 12oz bottle.

Mouthfeel is light with noticeable tartness. It feels like a 4.30% beer and as far as a "session" beer it fits the bill, but the flavors don't truly make it that drinkable and it isn't crisp in any way.

Troublesome backed up its name with a subpar Gose. It's not refreshing, salty, and pleasantly tart, but rather bready, doughy, and sour in a bad way. I'm not repulsed (well, I'm getting there) by any means, but the Gose deserves better.

Rating
5.8/10

Night Shift Harborside

The Stats
Style: Gose
ABV: 5.10%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.05/5
- RateBeer: 4.09/5

The Gose has been making a small comeback as of late with plenty of breweries throwing their hat into the ring in an attempt to craft the best example of the style. Night Shift Harborside takes the classic Gose recipe and adds the twist of Island Creek Oysters from Duxbury, MA.

Pours a bright, hazy, golden yellow with plenty of carbonation. Produces a fizzy, white head that goes away quickly much like soda.

The smell is reminiscent of the ocean with hints of sea salt and those oysters. Some sour lemon is there as well, but this smells like low tide at the beach.

My initial reaction on the taste was a mouth-puckering lemon tartness combined with an oceanic sea salt that is accentuated by the raw seafood addition of the oysters. When you think lemon taste, you most commonly think of an acidic feel, but in this case it is just tart like a sour candy. The ocean water saltiness isn't unpleasant and it adds to the well-balanced sour flavor. There are no hops to speak of in this beer as oysters and salt appear to be dominant, but in a style such as Gose, it isn't intended to be hop-forward. As it warms up, the oysters are more prominent. They do leave a noticeable aftertaste which is disappointing. Hours after I drank this I was still left with a residual oyster taste.

With a light body and 5.10% abv, this is designed to be very sessionable. Harborside can taste like a salty, lemon bomb at times and it would be drinker-friendly if not for such a strong oyster presence.

Night Shift Harborside has delivered an interesting rendition of the Gose. The end result is a crisp lemony tartness that can be washed away by raw oysters. An acquired taste for sure.

Rating
6.8/10