Grozet Gooseberry and Wheat Ale
Brewer: Heather Ale Ltd, Scotland, UK
Marketing BS: "Grozet - Auld Scots for Gooseberry. Since the 16th Century Scots monks and Alewives have brewed special concoctions from a blend of malts, wild spices and ripe gooseberries. Bringing together these various ingredients in a beer the brewer attempts to offer a drink which is refreshing, full of flavour and a pleasure to consume. Amongst the Scots literati of the 19th Century the Green Grozet was immortalized as "a most convivial drink."
Marketing Translation: Dinnae mess wi' th' scots, ye dobber.
Setting: Couch in front of television showing a NASA moon buggy of some sort disgorging an astronaut in front of President Obama's Inaugural viewing stand.
Bottle/Label: Brown bottle for brew preservation. Label is some horrible New Age/Druid nonsense designed by Glasgow School of Art students and is supposed to borrow from 1st millennium Celtic maze design. Looks like an amputated ear.
The Pull: Whisper soft, like the heather blowing on the moors.
Alcohol Content: Absolutely pathetic at 5%.
Method of Imbibation: A POM pomegranate recyclable glass.
First Swig: Cloudy, heather gold. A sufficient head. Sweet and refreshing. Drinks easy. But where are the spices? And where is the bogmyrtle hiding in the quaff? Hey, wait a minute, just what the hell is bogmyrtle?
Competition: Well, if must have fruit in your beer, then Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat
Recommendation: No, not really. SBD likes his beer to taste like beer, not a goddamned fruit.
Note: This post should have been put up last week, but it was lost in a toxic haze of violent vomiting and gatrointestinal mayhem brought on by Post-Inaugural Stress Syndrome. -- SBD
