What’s the latest style craze these days? There are a few of them actually, but Gose certainly seems to appear at the top of the list. If you said Berliner Weiss I’ll accept your answer, and it should be noted that both styles are sour and refreshing and fit in with the popularity of beers all lumped together as “sours”. Both styles, of course, have their own unique history, and both originated in Germany.

I have quibbles with many American versions of these styles, and that is sadly the case with Victory Kirsch Gose. Kirsch means cherry, and this beer is made with cherries, and that’s my quibble: it ends up being more of a fruit beer than a Gose to me. A lot of Goses these days have such ingredients added, and to my taste they detract from the classic Gose ingredients of salt and coriander.

From the website:

Excite your senses with a sharp, sweet burst of fresh cherries. Sublime and effervescent, this bold and bright session ale has an enticing cherry-fruit character. Aroma of fresh sour cherries with flavors of tartness, intense rounded cherry character, and a refreshing salty character. Crisp carbonation and light body are both combined into a thirst quencher.

Ingredients from the website:

Malt: Pilsner, Wheat, Torrified Wheat, Acidulated

Hops: Spalt Spalt

Victory Kirsch Gose has an alcohol content of 4.7% by volume and I paid $5.50 for an 11-ounce glass at Taco Mac. It runs $13.99 a 4-pack at Total Wine.

My glass of Victory Kirsch Gose arrived a vibrant red color with a thick fluffy white head and a little tart cherry on the nose. Taking a sip, I get dry almonds and tart cherries on the palate, and the beer immediately strikes me as not really all that Gose-like. It lacks the intense sourness, certainly the coriander and I’m not getting the salt they mention either. Still, it is sour if less than puckeringly so, and the cherry is well presented into the tart finish.

Not enough so, though, that I would pay $14 for 4-bottles again for a glorified fruit beer. Not a rebuy for me, although it is worth a try and I’m glad that I did. I’ll give it 3 1/2 stars and take back ½ star for the crazy high price.

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