Key West Lime Gose

Born at Radical Road Brewing Co., an East End Toronto suds shop, Key West Lime Gose is a member of the brewery’s Funk & Sour Series. I grabbed a 355mL can at the brewery and poured out a pale golden brew topped with a thin circlet of white suds. At just 3.8%, the beer is quaffable, or would be but for its tartness and salinity.

KWLG has a nose that twitches twixt briny and tart. It has a salty tang that balances a citrus swizzle. In short, it’s both sour and salty to the nose and through the flavour as well. For a low-alcohol brew, this one has intense flavours, kicking off with sea salt assertiveness and merging into lime acidity with just a sliver of sweetness that left me licking my lips.

The result is a shot of tequila short of a margarita. This beer is interesting and assertive. Despite its light weight, it certainly isn’t timid. The flavours pair pretty well, though I found the lime to have a slightly artificial vibe—there is no claim on the can that the lime flavour is natural, but using artificial stuff doesn’t mean it has to taste phony. All told, it was a pretty good gose with electric attitude.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.