27 August 2016

Wild Goose Chase Beer (@HonestBrew) [By @SpectreUK]



Honest Brew very kindly sent me six intriguing sounding beers and a glass to drink them out of. There were beers such as Beavertown Neck Oil, Wild Boar, and Railway Porter, as well as this Wild Goose Chase. There was a smart booklet with the bottles and cans of beer to describe each one, and some further information about flavour categories. This seems like the perfect present for someone who doesn’t get to the shops much and likes their unusual sounding beers.

Produced by the Wild Beer Co. Brewery in Westcombe, Somerset, this Wild Goose Chase is served in a 330ml bottle at 4.5% volume. The description on the bottle made my mouth water. Gooseberries are added during the brewing, as well as locally grown wild yeast, some harmonising hops as well as dry hops to bring out the fruitiness and extenuate the bitterness. On opening there was a tart gooseberry smell and a decent helping of hops to back it up. There was also a slight green tint to the ultra pale ale as I poured it into my beer glass. I was starting to get a little concerned about how bitter this drink may be.

On first taste I could certainly see what they meant about the complementary hops. The gooseberry flavour hit my tastebuds first with a fruity nose hair tickling bitterness, which the hops then coax the fruity bitter flavour and yet don’t let it overpower the senses. The pale malt is drawn out at the back of the flavour once the bitterness has run its course. I can see why they called this beer Wild Goose Chase, as they must have worked very hard indeed to balance these flavours just right, in order to produce a truly different taste experience!

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