Samuel Adams Verloren Gose

I picked up a bottle of Samuel Adams Verloren Gose at State Line Liquors in Elkton, MD. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy off-white colored head that leaves a thin lacing on the glass as it subsides. The aroma consists of grass, lemon, wheat, and a hint of barnyard. The taste is sweet and smooth with a lemon, caramel, and wheat base. There is pepper and grass bite to the beer on the back of the throat. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. While a decent Gose, I’d say it may have been a little too sweet for my taste of the style. Most of the small batch beers are a hit in my book, but this one wasn’t worth another purchase. With that said, it wasn’t a wasted purchase either.

Penn Brewery Small Batch 001- French Oak and Kentucky Bourbon

As part of the Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week festivities, I went to Mad Mex in Monroeville for the Penn Brewery event. On cask, they were serving their limited Small Batch 001, French Oak and Kentucky Bourbon. The beer is a Munich Dunkel aged on bourbon-soaked chips. The beer pours a dark brown color with a creamy off-white colored head. The aroma is sweet with toffee, caramel, oak, vanilla, bourbon, and cherry. The taste is smooth and creamy with sweetness on the front end consisting of toffee and caramel. There is a light smoked flavor before oak dryness settles in on the tongue. A hint of bourbon shines on the finish without overpowering the other flavors and vanilla lightly accents the beer with some sweetness. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. I was quite impressed with Penn Brewery’s first Small Batch beer, and I think there will be some great beers in the future. It was easily drinkable and could be used as a great introductory beer for those that haven’t ventured into craft beer or oak aged beers.