Get to know your beer: Blackberry Gose

Beer number 5 for the Inaugural Alesong Brewing and Blending bottle release is Blackberry Gose, a tart gose-style ale with coriander and sea salt and fermented on blackberries.

When we set up this brewery with plans to release barrel aged beer in bottles, Brian, Doug and I knew that we might want to have what we call "instant gratification beers", that is beers that you want to crack on the spot and drink.  Sometimes, when people buy specialty beer that was matured in barrels, they want to further age it or save it for that special occasion. While that is often a good idea to let more complex flavors develop, and indeed, something we also do, all of our beers will be great to drink when we release them and some won't actually get better with age.  We love those beers for the simple reason that they demand to be consumed now and we're happy to oblige! 

We designed our sales to release at least 4 beers quarterly, with one of them being a non-barrel aged beer that's typically going to be best consumed sooner rather than later.  For our first release, we knew that the dog days of summer would still be upon us (and in fact, the forecast is calling for record heat on Saturday) and we had a lot of very favorable comments with our early summer Strawberry Gose, so we figured we'd use a seasonal fruit and make the base Gose again. 

As many reading this understand, blackberries are popping in Oregon this time of year.  So, as you drink our Blackberry Gose, imagine carefully plucking blackberries from their thorny protection, while their sweet juiciness make the sun feel even warmer on your neck. That sunny picture can often be punctuated by the tart interloper of the occasional unripe berry, and you soon understand this sweet/tart sensation that was the inspiration of this late summer beer style.  It is tart up front, with a juicy berry middle, and hint of salinity and coriander to provide balance to those unique flavors. It's very refreshing and light and the perfect summertime quaff. 

We'll be selling Blackberry Gose this Saturday at our party in 750ml bottles.  You should consider taking a few home to share with your favorite berry picking buddy. 

Cheers!

Matt