Beer of the Week! 08/23/22

Commonwealth Islamorada

Regularly $18.99 / Now on Sale for $17.96
Gose Style Ale with Pineapples, Bananas, Blood Oranges, and Blackberries

Brewers almost always add fruit to Goses; it’s what American Goses are for. In fact, though we think of Goses as sour beers, you could just as accurately think of them as “fruit beers.” Still, when we saw Virginia Beach’s Commonwealth Brewing Company add this much fruit to a Gose, we were surprised … and intrigued.

The Islamorada (named after a collection of four islands in the Florida Keys) is a Gose with pineapples, bananas, blood oranges, and blackberries. The wonder of this beer is that Commonwealth doesn’t lose any of those flavors in their mix. Take a sip, and you can pick out all of them on your tongue. One thing that you may lose, though, is the Gose.

With all that strong fruit the distinctive Gose tartness takes a backseat. In fact, it might be more accurate to say that it takes the rumble seat or trunk, only appearing as a crisp finish.

So, if you like your Goses tart and puckery, maybe stay inland. However, if you like the idea of a fresh, tropical fruit beer, then Commonwealth has your invitation to the islands!

Bonus Beer of the Week (‘Cause it’s gracious to give someone a second chance.)

Starr Hill Great Heights

Regularly $12.99 / Now on Sale for $11.96
Elderflower Tripel Style Ale

We know what you’re thinking. “Can Starr Hill do a Tripel!?!” Yes. Yes, they can. Don’t hesitate. Starr Hill can be great! They set their sights upon great heights!

The Great Heights is a Tripel Style Ale with a couple of twists. First off, Tripels — as far as we understand* — are traditionally made with two or three Noble (or near Noble) hops. Here, Starr Hill uses all Halltertau hops, eschewing the other Noble hops.

*(Once again, we, ourselves, do not make beers. We just get four out of five brewing questions right on Jeopardy!)

Second, Starr Hill flavors this beer with dried Elderflowers, which takes you on an appealing turn. The Elderflowers pick up the slight fruit notes of the Hallertau hops and wrap themselves around the Belgian esters. Still, Starr Hill keeps things subtle, offering an added dimension to the classic Tripel taste. On top of it all, they also manage to give the Great Heights a creamy mouthfeel, which … yes, please!

The result is a smooth, off-off-dry Tripel wrapped in floral flavors and aromas like a Chantilly lace mantle. (Ooo, baby! That’s what we like!)

Remember!

You can see our entire beer inventory on Untappd.com!