Aug 21, 2018

Westbrook Gose

I’ve encountered a few seriously sour/tart beers in my time, whether intentional or not. Westbrook Brewing’s Gose has intent — a right hook like young Mike Tyson intent. The 4% ABV Gose only hints at the aggressive sourness that is to come with each sip with just a gentle waft of it in the aroma. And then *POW* lights out once that beer hits the tastebuds.

This can was picked up as a mixed box of beer on my Summer trip to OBX and had I known it was this awesome, I would have purchased much more than the single. Gose is not a beer for everyone. It’s intense sour tartness is one of the most assertive that I’ve experienced in quite some time. It widens the eyes and awakens the senses quickly before nearly just as quickly fading to a teasing tingle, allowing the lemony notes, grain and salinity to do their thing. The cycle repeats with each sip as the palate never really adjusts to the astringency. Then again, maybe I just downed the beer too quickly in my excitement.

I thoroughly enjoyed this beer from a company that I haven’t met prior. If Gose is any indication of the brewery’s capabilities, then I’m most assuredly going to keep an eye out for their stuff in future trips. Or, maybe, I’ll just buy all the Gose I can instead. Either way, it sounds like a win-win to me.