What gose ’round: Skookum’s Blueberry Gose is a fruity adventure

I’m a hophead.

There, I’ve said it. I know it’s suddenly become uncool to like IPAs. They’ve somehow become the Taylor Swift of beers. You know what I mean. Everyone can like them unless you are in the “cool craft beer club.” Then you have to openly hate them while secretly enjoying them in the secrecy of your bedroom late at night while the kids are sleeping.

I, for one, love both a good IPA and a T-Swift song. That doesn’t mean I don’t branch out. In fact, if a brewery doesn’t have a pilsner or a lager, I’ll generally use the IPA to judge how well they know their stuff.

I figure if they have a solid idea of what hops work together with what malts without avoiding a bitter or cloying mess, then they probably can brew just about anything. So from there I move on to other styles. Maybe I’m wrong, but it would be hard to move me from that position. I’m pretty stuck in my ways.

As most, I have a few breweries that are my standard places. Arlington’s Skookum Brewery is one of those places. It’s not far from my house and it was one of the breweries instrumental in turning me into a beer geek. So when I heard Skookum was putting a Gose on tap, I wanted in on the action.

For those of you who may be new to the beer scene, a Gose (pronounced gö-zuh) is a German wheat beer. Its biggest characteristics are slightly tart, spicy and salty flavors. Yes, the beer is brewed with salt water.

But it’s not what you think — at least not with Skookum’s new Blueberry Gose. This beer has a huge fruity nose. One deep breath and you’ll feel like you’ve stuck your nose in a blueberry muffin. It smells delicious.

The color is a murky mauve color that screams fruit beer. The first drink has a light mouthfeel and is slightly sour with just a little bit of dry berry. Then the salt hits. It’s quick and acts almost as more of a palate cleanser than anything else, leaving the finish clean and refreshing.

This beer isn’t for everyone. But really, what beer is? However, if you are searching for a light, refreshing, interesting beer on one of these hot summer days, grab your WABL passport and head over to Skookum Brewery in Arlington for a Blueberry Gose.

And if that’s not your thing you can drink a stout and grab a growler of IPA … to drink alone … under your bed.

Scott Wetzel owns Fresh Bread Design, an Arlington graphic design business that works with breweries and distilleries. Follow him on Twitter at @FreshBreadD.