Maverick & Gose

Maverick & Gose represents my first foray into the gose style. Gose is, according to that most august of sources, Wikipedia, an historic style of German beer that's brewed with at least 50% of its grain being malted wheat.

M & G is "a well crafted collaboration" between Amsterdam Brewery and Great Lakes Brewery, two of Toronto's most well-established purveyors of fine craft suds. When I saw it at the liquor store, I thought to myself, "I've never tried that", followed immediately by, "Who am I to resist a Top Pun?".

M & G comes in a pretty snazzy 500mL bottle and contains 5.9% alcohol. It's a cloudy and cheery orange-gold that looks a lot like a conventional wheat beer. The aroma has a sharp, salty tang and some tart citrus notes. As well, there is some considerable yeastiness. The label tells me that this enticing brew is made using pink Himalayan salt, some spices, and is aged in chardonnay barrels. I found it to have a light and lively mouthfeel, not unlike a typical wheat beer, but the flavour was very different. It was milder than I expected it to be--there were notes of citrus and wheat; however, there is a genuinely salty brine that makes the finish quite unusual. There's even a slight dose of bitterness in there at the end. I didn't taste a lot of the spices that I was expecting.

Despite the saltiness, this stuff managed to be relatively thirst-quenching and crisp. It's a mild and easy-going beer with a unique flavour that doesn't taste anywhere near its 5.9% alcohol content. I'd pair this beer with fish. My neighbour started grilling some fillets partway through my pint and the combo was mouth watering. Kudos to Amsterdam and GLB, firstly for collaborating, and secondly, for working on an uncommon style.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.