Round Two!: Gose Get Me Another One!

Today I am reviewing Rapp Brewing's Gose!
I did a review of the Rapp Brewing Facility here.

The Gose is a 1,000 year old German recipe, and the centerpiece for the new sour trend.

Gose originally stems from Leipzig, Germany and is known for it's sour or salty taste. This taste comes from the inclusion of coriander and salt water in the brewing process.It resembles the Berliner Weiss very closely.

Rapp Brewing Company sticks very closely to the original formula, where some breweries are known to add syrups or sweeteners to dilute the salty aftertaste of the Gose.

I know what your thinking: saltwater and beer, you want me to drink that?

Well, in my opinion you probably should give the Gose a shot.

The beer is unique, and wildly different from the more hoppy brews dominating the current industry.

The Gose has a very cloudy opaqueness to it, sort of like a fresh glass of real lemonade, and the head of the Gose dissipates very quickly.

Gose on the far left, in the goblet looking glass.

You can smell the salt water and coriander, with a scent of the malted wheat carried slowly behind. The beer doesn't quite smell like anything I've tried before.

AND THE TASTE?

Well, -takes a deep sip- the first thing is a sharp sour taste, not lemon, but still sharp. Normally, a new Gose drinker will be a bit overwhelmed by the sour, and not know quite what to think. The after tone of the taste has the salt water and wheat battle for dominance. This battle lasts on your tongue for quite a while and continually asks which you like more.

I enjoy the Gose, which comes as a bit of a shock to some of my friends. The Gose is complex and reminds me of the learning curve required to like the hoppy IPA. Yet, with concentration and an open mind I think the complexities of the Gose really give way to an overall enjoyment.

The salt water is probably the most interesting taste in the Gose. Your mouth doesn't quite understand it, but with each sip I get closer and closer to loving the sour beer.

Not all agree wit me. A friend of mine got an entire glass of Gose at Rapp Brewing, and about half way through his drink he found himself pining for something more akin to beer.

The Gose isn't for everybody, but in my opinion it goes down nicely. I'm not alone.

Rapp Brewing Company's Gose has won multiple awards from Ratebeer.com. It has even been awarded the Gold medal in 2014's Florida Beer Competition.

I would recommend you get a sample size, and try  this beer out. I'm certain you will be entertained by the uniqueness of the flavor.

Raise your glasses and have great day!

Devin

That's a Rapp! Brewery Review

On Friday, September 18 I went to Rapp Brewing in Seminole, Florida.

Here's their Lovely Sign!

This is my first entry in my Florida brewery review series, and I couldn’t have made a better choice.

Rapp Brewing is a small established brewery in Florida who was ranked one of Florida’s best breweries in 2013 by RateBeer.com. They have also received multiple awards for their Gose and Munich Dunkel.

The brewery is separated into three parts: the taproom, an open warehouse sitting area, and a game room. The game room is also connected to the open warehouse, and towards the back of both rooms their brewing operation is set up.

`This Picture was taken from the Rapp Brewing Website

The taproom is an excellent but small space, and walking into the warehouse area opens up even more places to drink. My friends and I sat in the warehouse next to a window looking into the taproom. Above our heads large industrial fans circulated the air. The walls around us were an uncomfortable off white, but there were plenty of things to do to distract us from the color. Near us, towards the back room was shelving unit full of boards games, and in the other warehouse game room we could play darts, foosball, and corn hole.

This is the warehouse seating room, complemented by my glorious posse!

I sampled the DIPA dry hopped with mosaic which has a 10.9% alcohol volume. That is one of the strongest DIPA’s I’ve ever tried. DIPA stands for Double Indian Pale Ale, and if you’re not huge hops fan, the DIPA probably sounds like monstrous drink.

Yet, I have to say that I was floored by the fact that Rapp’s DIPA did not have that overpowering taste of hops. When I spoke to one of the brewers about the taste, he attributed the lack of striking hops taste to the 12 lbs of sugar they use to brew it.

This is one beautiful DIPA!

There was a food truck called Fork in the Road outside of Rapp brewing. Tasha, who along with Jake run the food truck, let me sample a bit of their Smoked Chipotle Chili. This chili was vegan, and crafted with Rapp’s Smoked Porter. The Chili was delicious, and I didn’t even miss the meat!

Fork in the Road Food Truck with Tasha and Jake!

Rapp brewing is very proud of their German influence, and it is apparent by their dedication to original German recipes. They also source many of their grains from Germany, aside from a few bags of American grains which they use for some American standard beers.

A good example of Rapp’s dedication to original German recipes is their Gose. The Gose is a 1,000 year old German recipe, and is in large part the centerpiece for the new sour beer trend. Gose’s sour taste stems from the inclusion of coriander and salt water in the brewing process. I will be doing a full write up on my opinion of Rapp Brewing’s Gose in an upcomingpost.

Big cup on the left is the Gose!

Rapp’s employees were incredibly kind to me, and when I told them that this was one of the first breweries I wanted to cover they asked me if I wanted a tour of their private brewing area.

I answered with an enthusiastic Yes!

I was led by one of their brewers, a man named Chris Seney. Chris told me he has been working with Rapp for three months, and that he began his career crafting brews at home.

This is Chris, he's busy at the moment.

The experience was enlightening, to say the least. Chris walked me through their brewing process step-by-step. Rapp Brewing has a two barrel system which can be small when compared to some of the larger breweries in the area. Yet, the two barrel system does not keep them from crafting a variety of beer. On the night I went to the brewery they were serving 20 different kinds.

The two barrels on the right are what consists of a Two Barrel System!

The variety that Rapp has can be attributed to their fermentation process. They use smaller plastic barrels which are set on wheels for easy transportation. The plastic barrels are smaller than their metal counterparts, and can be placed in more confined places. Rapp also has over 20 different strands of yeast, and an abundant variety of hops.

These are plastic, and easy to move.

In the past Rapp brewing has crafted over 90 different varieties of beer, and they are consistently looking to craft new entries to their lineup.

Rapp has plans to expand their barroom, and to do so they want to close off the tabled portion of the warehouse, so that more people can enjoy drinking in the AC. Their current plans of expansion do not include increasing their brewing space, and since distribution is not currently on the table they do not need to expand that part of the brewery, yet.

While touring the back, Chris had me taste the grains that Rapp brewing uses to craft their beer. I had never previously sampled grains. The experience was really interesting. Chris said that grains make up a large part of the taste for the beer. This was very apparent after I took a handful of grain to munch on. Grain actually tastes pretty good, and there is a lot of variety in the flavor.

I sampled a smooth caramel grain, and a very bitter chocolate one that helped to explain the taste of stouts.

These are the grains. They can be eaten. I ate them.

I could fill an essay with things I learned at Rapp Brewery, and their kindness and professionalism will have me coming back. It can be difficult to get up the courage to tell people that I am a beer blogger, but Rapp Brewing made it easy. I can now with all my senses intact suggest to any of my friends that they should give this place a shot.

Raise your glasses and have a great day!

Our first round: The Release of the Bayboro Blonde Ale!

Being a beer lover and a University of South Florida in St Petersburg (USFSP) student made this weekend extremely exciting.

3 Daughters Brewery, who has partnered with the school  to create a brewers arts certification program, renamed one of their flagship beers after USFSP.

The original name of the beer was the Beach Blonde Ale, and the new name for a short time is:

The Bayboro Blonde Ale.

If you’re a Florida resident you’ve most likely seen the little yellow can on Publix shelves. John Savitsky, 3 Daughters’ Chief Operating Officer stated that the Beach Blonde has reached over 260 stores and is now served in 2,000 outlets across Florida.

The Bayboro Blonde Ale has its own tap handle and will be served under the new name inside the 3 Daughters tap room for the month of September. Better yet, the Bayboro Blonde will be served at USFSP’s own bar The Tavern for the rest of the year.

This is the new tap handle. The dog on the label is Alberta, the service dog for Journalism & Media Studies Department Chair Deni Elliott. D. Ed.

So, to celebrate this pairing of these two entities I filled up my 64oz growler (now legal in Florida!) with the brew.

The beer was officially released at the USF Block Party held on September 12^th. I attended to cover the release of the beer and the festivities.

This is Tom! He runs The Tavern (USFSP's own bar) and will be serving Bayboro Blonde Ale all year!

I must say that the Bayboro Blonde Ale is extremely refreshing. Running around the USFSP Block Party, I had two chances to rest and enjoy a pint of the ale. I’ve had some experience with wheat beer, but I find it difficult to pick one as easy to drink as the Bayboro Blonde. The beer is very smooth without the hint of hoppy-ness that has become so prevalent in many craft beers.

I toured the Block Party with a few friends, who notoriously refuse the delicious and refreshing taste of beer. But, as an experiment I had one of my none-beer-loving friends try out the Bayboro. She was surprised by the cool smooth taste, and asked for a second sampling!

Finding interview subjects for my coverage of the actual event, I excitedly located bystanders with a glass of the golden beverage and asked them how they were enjoying the beer. Many were excited by the prospect of having a beer dedicated to the school. Some had never tried it before, and I think all were delighted by the taste.

They even served beer in the Student Life Center of USFSP! The first time any students had ever heard of USFSP serving beer on campus.

It was a ton of fun talking to people about the Bayboro Blonde Ale. I met some fellow beer lovers, and we gushed over the aspect of getting a Bayboro Blonde Ale from the 3 Daughters breweries’ tap room.

I will definitely be grabbing some more of the Bayboro Blonde either at the tap room, or between classes at The Tavern!

Here's Michael, and he's got beer for all of us!

I also wrote an article for the USF St Petersburg Crow's Nest. You can read that here!

Allow me to introduce myself, I am a man of many tastes! :

Thank you for visiting A Pint in the Sunshine, I’m glad you’re here.

My name is Devin Rodriguez, and I am a journalism student at the University of South Florida in St Petersburg (USFSP).

I barely remember my first beer. I think it was a desperately driven suppression that folded it back somewhere in the dark recesses of my mind, but when I tell myself the story of my first beer I think back to a small house party and a case of Pabst Blue Ribbon.

I don’t think I appreciated PBR very much back then, and even now when handed one of those ice cold long boys I flinch, but only a little bit. I don’t hate them mind you, I just enjoy taste.

Later on, in a last frat party situation, I was handed a Leinenkugel, the Sunset Wheat. A beer even my ex-girlfriend could enjoy, and she hated the taste of anything even labelled beer. My pallet exploded with possibilities, I needed more. I liked the wheat beers, feared the stouts. Just a young man exploring new possibilities, unable to articulate much.

My life changed when I was handed a Cigar City Jai Alai. It was at a World of Beer, after I had sampled enough other brews to be daring. This was a beer that challenged me in all the right ways, it was complex and difficult, didn’t care if I wasn’t up for it. I knew I needed so much more.

Now, here I am ready to dive into the world of Craft Beer. I began this blog as a process of exploration, I am curious about beer. How curious? Well, for the length of my school semester I am making it my mission to dive deep into the world of craft brewing. I want to investigate the brewery scene here in the beautiful Tampa Bay area, and further.

I’m still very young when it comes to beer reviews, still bright eyed and bushy tailed, but I hope this blog allows me room to grow. I want to give you an honest opinion and review about the experiences I have, and from that I hope to educate myself and you about what goes into the crafting of some of the best craft beer in town.

I want to be fun, light hearted, and sincere with an emphasis on the experience of drinking all over St. Petersburg and Tampa. I hope you join me on this adventure and pick up a pint in the beautiful sunshine state.