Unity Brewing x Howling Hops - For Days
On the 17th day of Christmas my true love gave to me..... a 4.5% apricot and peach gose from Unity (not sure that one will catch on).
Dan
I wasn't expecting a sour today in all honesty, I thought we were in punchy IPA/DIPA territory being a Thursday and all. However, there is no real disappointment with today's reveal, a first taste for me of what these Southampton brewers can do and likewise for Howling Hops in Hackney Wick who joined in on the fun!!
This gose poured an inviting hazy coral, retaining a nice little film of froth and kicking out a nosefeel that was gung ho apricot. On the tasting hole, there were no punches being pulled on the sour front, it was teeth clenchingly tart with the apricot puree offering only the slightest sweetness to counteract. The peach wasn't overly detectable and I suspect might have been underripe, purposefully, to bring another layer of sharpness in contrast to the rich and juicy apricot. There was the tiniest pinch of rock salt in there but could probably have been amped up a touch for me. Really tasty stuff nevertheless but I agree with my familiar, Jackie boy, that a 440 of this was quite the clout round the head with the sour staff!!
Score - 4.0 (by a whisker)
Jack
I have previously described my disdain for sour beer, although as I have also said in the past, this is a disdain that is slowly being turned to acceptance, if not admiration. Admittedly, I still think a lot of sour beers are over-priced, over-fruited and unpalatable, but when they get it right, oh boy.
Today's reveal was one of those oh boy sort of sours. Sure, it might have looked like a Berocca on the pour, but that can be forgiven as this was an absolute delight. What we got was apricot nosefeel and then the tartiest tartness you could hope for on the tongue which dissipated into gentle fruitiness. The mouthfeel was spot on for this really, not too thin, not too thick but, 440ml is probably too much of any sour for me.
Score - 4.0
If you are into masochism, why not watch Dan and Jack drink this, here.
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