Founders' Mas Agave

[tennesseean_87]

I had this beer on a work trip to Grand Rapids and loved it! Here's what the website says:

ABV: 10%
IBUs: 20
Availability: May-Sep
We love cocktails. Like, really love them. If you ask us, few are more refreshing than the tart and tangy margarita and our latest barrel-aged beer pays tribute to that perennial classic. We took an imperial gose brewed with agave, lime and sea salt and then aged it in tequila barrels for just the right amount of kick. Consider it a party in a bottle. Más Agave!

It was really good. I'm not a cocktail guy, but I just moved into a house on Margarita Dr., so maybe that'll change.

I'd like to do something like this, but maybe not Imperial. I'm thinking some sort of gose, lime zest, maybe some limey hops (motueka? neomexicanus?) tequila-soaked oak. The founders beer has some color, so I'm wondering what sort of malts they used.

Any ideas?

 

[RPh_Guy]

The founders beer has some color, so I'm wondering what sort of malts they used.

A gose is 60% wheat and 40% pilsner. The color comes from the barrel.

FYI you can skip the "sea salt" and use table salt.

I think getting the agave flavor will be difficult unless you just dump in a bunch of tequila. I've been wondering whether there are any agave nectar products out there that actually taste like agave.

Check out this thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/margarita-gose.594994/

 

[Pappers_]

Agree with @RPh_Guy that the color might be coming from the barrel. But if it doesn't happen in your beer, with the spirals or wood chips, not a big deal - margaritas can be clear, also. For the lime zest, you might make a tincture of that - soak the lime zest in some tequila, then add that to the Gose at at bottling/kegging. That way you can taste, add more, taste, etc. until you reach the right balance.