My old man recently did a (not so) little purchase from what I consider the most experimental gluten free brewery going. More importantly I have been permitted to occasionally taste and try some of these crazy concoctions or, in the case of today’s beer, he has treated me to the whole thing! This is Brass Castle’s ‘Pizzazz’ a sun-dried tomato and sweet basil gose. Yes you did read that correctly, it’s a pizza flavoured sour beer. I’ve been looking forward to trying this the moment I saw it in their store and asked my Dad to chuck it in his order for me.

The beer pours a slightly cloudy, marmalade colour with a very small and quickly dissipating head. Really impressive aroma on this beer with genuine notes of tomato and basil! Flavour wise the brew is rather fragrant with a touch of sharpness mixed in. You certainly get a touch of the tomatoes but not really any of basil. The finish is rather biscuity or bready which sort of reminds me of tomato bruschetta. Quite smooth for a sour and definetly refreshing.

A quick note on the can art: Brass Castle always have something different on the can and this one is certainly straight to the point. It’s a slice of pizza on a green background. Works very well!

Of the bizarre flavoured beers I’ve had I’d say this is one of the better ones. The nose is absolutely dead on and smells exactly as described. I think basil is a rather hard flavour to replicate, particularly in a beer so it’s not too disappointing that it’s not present. However, I do think the tomato could have come through more. Perhaps a bit more sweetness to counter some of the tartness would have provided a good balance. On the whole though, very refreshing and easy drinking for a sour. I also appreciate the use of Lactobacillus rather than straight lactose to help the body of the beer along as it ensure the beer isn’t excluding any vegan drinkers.

Score: 7/10

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Additional Information:

• Hops: Not Available
• Malt: Not Available
• IBU: Not Available
• ABV: 4.5%
• Gluten Free: Yes!
• Vegan: Yes!
• Purchase Location: Brass Castle Web Shop