Sleeping Lemons Export

All the way from Lower Westcombe Farm in Shepton Mallet, UK comes Sleeping Lemons Export, a 6% alcohol gose from The Wild Beer Co. According to the copy on the bottle, this beer was initially brewed domestically and was so popular that a higher alcohol “export” version was devised. The name Sleeping Lemons is apparently the English translation the Moroccan term “L’hamd Maraked”, which refers to the preserved format of those sour, yellow buddies, and the beer is indeed with brewed with preserved lemons and salt.

Each 330mL bottle of SLE contains a cloudy golden liquid that has some yeast and/or salt sediment and pours with just a murmur of off-white suds. This wheat beer has a colossal lemony scent that kicks off sharply, but allows for a little sweetness to seep in if you take a mighty whiff. The beer wasn’t nearly as tart or as briny as I expected. Those elements were definitely both present, but the balance was far more generous to sweetish lemonade than the aroma led me to expect. The label promises lemon curd and I think that’s what SLE delivers. The beer finishes with a solid sourness to seal the deal.

A refreshing and different pre-dinner treat, I thought this gose from The Wild Beer Co. was a playful and well-conceived bit of brewing. It didn’t leave me with much to complain about, so I’ll critique the copy-editing. Unless I’m much mistaken, both the English and French ingredients lists are missing a comma, unless the French version features “citron sel” and the English contains “salt hops”. If you’re looking for a starter gose, look no further, because this stuff is salty and sour, but it takes both slowly.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.