Style: Fruit gose
Brewery: Friends Company
Origin: Sweden
Size: 33cl
Alcohol: 4.7%
Price: 40kr
Systembolaget: 37031
When I started looking for chocolate beers to have in this tasting, I never expected to find a thick sour smoothie like this! I was quite sceptical about how strong the chocolate presence would be in the beer, but I still decided to give it a go as having a range of different styles is always one of my main aims in any tasting. I’ve sampled a few beers from Friends Company before and they’ve always been very good, so I knew that even if the chocolate wasn’t there it would still be a good beer. I was shocked however at just how awesome this beer was!
Foremost, I really liked the artwork on the can and found it to be very pleasing on the eye. When poured, the colour of this beer was phenomenal, with a beautiful indigo colour and slight pink head that disappeared quickly. The body was so thick, I can understand why they call it a smoothie! The aroma was delicious, with massive chocolate and blackcurrant aromas equally competing for place. Upon sipping, the taste really packed a punch and it was like drinking a liquid praline, with the rich chocolate working well with the sour blackcurrant notes. Lingon, cherry and a small citrus acidity were all noted on the palate too. I have no idea how they managed to produce a body this thick without lactose quite honestly. The salty edge of the style was hidden in the background but came through well in the aftertaste.
This was a complex and rather sumptuous beer. They managed to twist the gose style to make it their own but also keep true to the salt and citrus principles of the genre. Thick, creamy and smooth, I’m so glad I managed to find this for the chocolate tasting. When this was paired with dark chocolate cherry cake, this was the perfect combination. This is one of my favourite beers so far this year, and I will be buying a few more cans for myself!