Add another beer to the growing lineup at Quest: The Greenville brewery will tap its brand new summer seasonal tonight.
Tag Archives: summer
Artwork released for Westbrook’s canned Gose
“Did you hear the rumor that Westbrook is canning Gose?”
Man, if I had a nickel for every time I’ve been asked that question in the past few months.
You may recall that back in April, I broke the news that the Lowcountry brewery was gearing up to can its 4% German sour wheat beer sometime this summer. That factual, verified piece of news somehow became a “rumor,” with fans of the beer breathlessly hoping it would come true.
It is true. It always was true. It was never a rumor in the first place.
Sorry, I had to vent there a bit. I digress. Below, you’ll find the new artwork for the canned version of Gose, which will take up permanent residence in my fridge when it’s released this summer. No word on when that’ll happen, though. It’s reportedly in distribution inventories for preorder, but with no release date.
RJ Rockers’ new Day Drinker IPA designed to live up to its name
Ah, day drinking. Who doesn’t love cracking open a few cold ones while the sun is still up, especially on a sunny summer day. Here in South Carolina, summer afternoons generally call for lighter fare.
Enter Day Drinker IPA, the newest brew from Spartanburg’s RJ Rockers. The light, sessionable IPA designed for … well, day drinking. The beer was brewed for the first time Thursday morning.
Day Drinker will come in at around 5% ABV and feature a lighter malt flavor, bitter hops on the front and more of a stinging floral and citrus finish. Keep an eye out for it when it’s released in late June.
Westbrook Gose returns next week
You’ll have to wait a little while longer for cans of it, but in the meantime, Westbrook‘s Gose will return to draft and bottles beginning next week.
The tart and salty 4% German-style sour wheat beer returns just in time for the warmer weather. You can expect a canned version to arrive this summer, at which time it will promptly become my go-to summer beer.
Westbrook to can Gose
Westbrook is reportedly preparing to add a fourth beer to its line of canned brews, making it only the second craft brewery in the country to can the style.
According to a reliable source, the Mt. Pleasant brewery will begin canning their Gose this summer as a seasonal offering. The brewery’s interpretation of the German sour wheat beer comes in at 4% ABV and is currently a seasonal beer available on draft and in 22 oz. bottles.
The beer will be the fourth canned offering from Westbrook, joining White Thai and their IPA, as well as the upcoming unnamed rye pale ale. All three of those beers will be offered year-round.
It’ll be the second time an American craft brewery has canned a beer in the style. A search of CraftCans.com yields only one other result for a canned gose in the U.S.: Mo’s Gose from Armstrong Brewing Co. in San Francisco.
Oberon returns
It may not feel like spring here in South Carolina, but just like the blooming flowers, signs of a warmer season are beginning to pop up here and there.
Take, for example, the cases of Bell’s Oberon that arrived in stores this week. The 5.6% summer wheat ale – one of my favorites of the season – has returned to shelves to warm your insides. It’s one of the brewery’s more popular and celebrated offerings, but unlike Hopslam, you won’t see people murdering others to get their hands on some.
(Sadly, we’re not as lucky as Arizona, Florida and Puerto Rico, which get Oberon year-round. Lucky.)
You shouldn’t have any trouble finding this one.
21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon
21st Amendment Brewing
San Francisco, CA
Hell or High Watermelon Wheat Beer
4.9% ABV
I’m a man. A real man, damnit. I like steak and sports and alcohol that makes me grimace when I drink it. I like the heavy stuff – REAL beer for a REAL man – so I don’t give in to some frou-frou fruit-flavored wheat beer.
Except this one. This one’s pretty good.
21st Amendment‘s Hell or High Watermelon is a sessionable 4.9% wheat beer the brewery puts out every summer. After brewing a classic American-style wheat beer, they put the beer through secondary fermentation with fresh watermelon. Then they top it off with a bit more watermelon juice.
Like a wheat beer, it pours a very hazy straw yellow/sunrise/blonde color. There’s maybe half a finger of head but it’s gone before you know it. No lacing and very weak alcohol legs. All expected for a light beer of the style.
The nose has the standard big rich wheat notes and a really strong watermelon smell. While a lot of fruit beers go for overpowering fruit, the watermelon is very subtle and not overly sweet smelling. It’s not artificial at all. Just a very slight hoppiness to it.
There’s a very nice tartness on the tip of the tongue. There’s effervescent and bubbly carbonation throughout the mouth. The watermelon flavor is immediately present in the middle of the mouth and again on the back. Again, it’s not overpowering or artificial, which is something they pride themselves on. It’s the right balance of sweet and tart. On the back you get that smooth wheat and a clean sweet finish. It’s perfect for summer sipping.
The fact they use real watermelon is a big plus. The beer is just the right amount of sweet, a little tart and extremely smooth and drinkable. I could easily see myself going through a six-pack poolside. It takes a real man to say that.
