Margarita Gose

The ingredients list in the side of 473mL cans of Side Launch Brewing Company’s Margarita Gose reads a little more exotic than many beers, featuring organic agave nectar, lime purée, and Himalayan sea salt alongside the usual suspects. The beer, a 4.2% gose from Collingwood, Ontario, is a hazy ale with a dull, pinkish gold colour that  gives an impression of grapefruit juice. It pours with a thin but durable white head.

MG has tangy aromatics that do suggest the classic Mexican cocktail—salty brine and tart citrus are the leading lights. The flavour is unusual and yet familiar, with lime at the fore, built above a sharp, saline foundation. As well, there is a vague suggestion of tequila that doubtlessly comes from the agave nectar.

Side Launch’s Margarita Gose is undeniably a novelty beer, but it’s one that is compellingly well-executed. It really does have the essence of a decent marg, tendered in beer form, and in a low-alcohol format that would lend itself to afternoon sipping. I quaffed my first can of the stuff in early March, and it was a bit too chilly for the summer style, but it certainly made me wistful for warmer, sunnier days. The downside of this beer is that, despite its mathematical crushability, is that I’d be unlikely to reach for a second (much less a third) in a session.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.