Chariot by Urban Artifact is an assertively cherry fruit-forward offering that demonstrates a well-crafted solid marriage of tart cherry and Gose beer character. This beer is being evaluated as a Category 29A Fruit Beer with a Category 27 Historical Beer – Gose base as per the 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines.
The aroma has a moderate tart cherry character along with a touch of lactic metallic sour milky aromatic funk. There is some complexity here! There is a light wheat malt character behind this. The beer is a very cloudy/opaque pinkish-orange color with a wispy pink small bubble head that dissipates almost immediately. It is expected that a Gose would have a stronger stand of head than this. The overall appearance is reminiscent of a carbonated pink grapefruit cocktail.
A moderate tart cherry flavor presents itself up front with evident wheat bite behind it. A touch of citrus and coriander follow this up. The sweetness level is low. The salt level is moderate but not excessive for the style. Tartness is also on the subtle side, but enough to balance. The middle and finish retain a moderate level of tart cherry character, with a very clean and bright aftertaste. The body is moderately light, but on the low end of acceptable for the Gose style, and the carbonation is moderate.
Overall, this is an extremely quaffable Summer thirst quencher that has enough enjoyable character to keep bringing you back for more.