Off Color Troublesome

Off Color Troublesome

Most brewers spend a lot of time and effort keeping lactobacillus out of their breweries; it was the first thing we brought in (it still has to stay in the corner though). We blend together two different beers to make Troublesome. The first is a somewhat uninteresting wheat beer and the second is an overly acidic & funky beer fermented solely with lactobacillus. We blend the two beers together with coriander and salt at the tail end of fermentation to create a mild, lemony tartness and a fuller sensation of mouthfeel. And yes, it’s hard to make.
3.5
368 reviews
Chicago, United States

Community reviews

4.5 12 oz bottle from Liberty Beer in Pittsburgh. Just about everything is perfect. Loved the artistic label.
3.5 Draft - Light and flavorful tartness. Please no grapefruit taste to it. It sticks to the palate as well which makes the tartness linger as well.
3.5 Hazy pale yellow with fleeting foam. Salty wheat cracker, bready, coriander aromas. Smooth medium body. Salty, tart wheat, mild lactic, fruity coriander flavors____good.
3.9 Cloudy, murky, dark yellow pour with little foam. Distinct lacto tartness in the nose with some spice, white grape, a little lemon and some brine. Light to medium body, crisp fizz and slightly slick finish. The nose suggests a sour beer of some kind, but the taste delivers a smooth, spicy (coriander) wheat beer experience, which tends to persist to the finish. As it warms up a little earthy, wet hay aspect starts to emerge. A good sour beer / wheat beer hybrid, very good for summer. A pleasant surprise.
3.3 Clear yellow orange in color... Aroma of salt, wheat, lemon zest... Flavor is salt, lemon, lots of coriander... Very light and sessionable... Very muted, not much tartness or saltiness in general... Okay at best
3.3 Bottle. Pours a clear light orange with a very thin white head. Aroma of light fruits, sour wheat malt, apple, light spices. Flavor of wheat malt, light fruits with a faint sour prickliness, coriander. Lots of wheat malt, not really sour, kind of bland. An ok beer, not very similar to other goses that I’ve had. 6/4/6/4/13 (3.3/5)
4.0 12 ounce bottle from the House of Bottles in Marengo, IL, served in a Zywiec glass a little below cellar temp. A big, stable, lasting snowy head tops a lightly bubbly, faintly cloudy pale gold body....coriander, lime, light yeasty (sourdough) manifest in a pleasant if rather light nose...body offers a very light citric sweetness, like a touch of tart lemonade, just a touch of saltiness which grows somewhat towards the finish along with an increasing tartness...finish is quite tart, just a touch sweet, juicy, long, with the bare hint of pepper as well, after the mouth has been cleared...body is full, just a touch syrupy, moderately carbonated. This is really beautifully done and just insanely drinkable, I had to really resist chugging this sucker; it could perhaps be just a little more tart/sour, and I think a little more carbonation wouldn’t hurt, though with the low alcohol it never comes close to feeling sticky. When I took my several-year sabbatical from this site, this style wasn’t even on my radar (or most people’s) and I’d only had one traditional German example - now it’s everywhere and I’ve had half a dozen without even really trying to find them. This is the first "new" example that I’ve really enjoyed though, and it’s got me excited to find some more like it.
3.6 12 ounce bottle. Pours a hazy yellow with a one inch white head that lasts. Taste is of malt, wheat, coriander, citrus and some sour fruit. Wheat aroma. Has a lighter, refreshing body. Very drinkable and quite enjoyable.
3.9 Bottle, thank you mifo. Pours in clear yellow body, light hazy, almost like lime juice, medium creamy white head. Aroma has lactic acid upfront with herbal background, light coriander. I get the salt on the nose as well. Taste has very gentle light salt upfront with refreshing wheat malty notes. Citrusy, lemon like. No bitterness. Tart. Body is medium, high carbonation.
4.2 Tart and salty in a beer?!? It's really drinkable and yet super complex. Really intrigued. Perfect for the summer and perfect even after an evening of IPAs because of its uniqueness. Worth trying and worth buying.
3.0 Bottle. A- Plastic, funky. A- Yellow color, clear liquid, minimal head. T- Funky, tart, slightly sour, slightly salty, subtle lemon. P- Light body, average texture, average carbonation, slightly funky finish. O- They cal it a wheat with coriander aka witbier on the front and a gose on the back. Definitely leans towards the gose. Not much coriander but plenty of funky sour salty goodness. Nothing super special but refreshing for sure.
3.8 Pours pale gold in color with a thick white head. Aroma is fermenting grains, fermenting apples & sourness. Taste is sweet muted apples followed by tangy quality. The finish is mild toasty grains that kinda sneak in like they’re not sure, but are really pleasant when they finally do. It doesn’t have the salty slickness I’ve experienced in other goses (just exactly how do you spell gose plurally?), but it is not bad.
3.5 On tap at CBC 2014. Pours a pale yellow with a small white head. Malty aromas of grains with light hoppy aromas of grass and citrus fruits. Also peachy hints. Medium to light bodied. Soft carbonation. Dry finish.
3.6 Tasting at Matt’s Cloudy pale blond color. Nice aroma, deep: wheat, coriander, lactic acid, a bit fruity. Nice wheat flavor, very salty, with light acidity, delicate spices, refreshing. Not too dry, not too carbonated, it has a good mouthfeel. Very good.
3.6 Hazy tannish wheat color. The aroma is of crackled wheat and the Earth. Earthy wheat and somewhat tart flavor. Perhaps the slightest trace of coriander, but it’s a real small factor. A satisfying, refreshing brew that tastes of wholesome ingredients.
3.6 Pours a light cloudy yellow with fizzy head. Aromas of lemony and fruity tartness. Light tartness followed by some salty notes and a lemony zest finish.
3.2 Bottle. Hazy clear color. Good carbonation. Has a up front bold dry sour taste. After taste is watery. average gose.
3.4 12 oz. bottle, pours a hazy pale golden yellow with a small white head. Aroma brings out notes of coriander and lacto. Flavour is along the same lines, with lots of coriander upfront, followed by a touch of lacto. Low saltiness for the style - almost seems more like a Berliner. Solid stuff.
3.5 Nice clean wheat beer. Hazy yellow glow. Punch of lemon. Wet grass. Light and crushable.
2.9 Smell is somewhere between a Hoegaarden and a Blue Moon. Pours very light yellow and cloudy. Tastes like lemons, with a hint of coriander. Very wheaty at first, but settles in nicely. Overall a decent one.
3.1 Hazy yellow pour. Slight white head. No lacing. Spicy nose with a hint of lemon. Taste is sweet spice and lemon tartness.
3.1 Not a style I seek out but had to try it since I see it so often in stores. Plenty of lemony, yeasty wheat beer here, and that interesting coriander that’s in the background. Interesting, but not a beer I want to try more than once.
3.8 Bottle pour light gold with quickly dissipating minimal white head. Nose light funk, tart fruit, lemon citrus. Taste lemon, big citrus, then sweet like limoncello . Some Belgian candy sugar and light spice mid. Fairly thick syrupy mouth feel. Light tart and spice finish.
3.8 Pour is a soft light yellow, almost white tints. Very low carbonation. Smell is lemon, coriander, spices, black pepper, vinegar and yeast. Taste is immediate lemon and orange with other citrus, then a slight change to bitter rind and vinegar. Palate dies down quickly but leaves a lingering sweet lemon aftertaste. Not really knowledgeable about this style.
4.0 In spite of what its name suggests, Troublesome is an easygoing sour beer. The addition of pilsner yeast has tamed the lacto acidity in this beer and left it with a bread-like smell and taste. Gose is a sour German wheat ale variety, but Off Color’s brew drinks a lot like a lager. There are subtle notes of coriander and the flavor reminded me a lot of sour dough bread. Tartness is still here, there’s some lemony funk and salt. With a clear body, lots of carbonation, and a snowy head, Troublesome is damn photogenic. When people say they don’t like Gose, this is the one you should steer them toward.
3.4 Frothy head. Light, champagne-like carbonation. Clean, refreshing and light. Faint coriander is nicely in the background. Slight sourness provides a hint of lemony twang. Overall, it’s well made, pleasant and easy to drink, but flavor-wise it just seems a bit restrained.
3.6 Tallahassee, Fl - ABC Fine Wine & Spirits - Betton - 12 oz bottle. Light golden, slightly hazy pour, not much of a head. Sour aroma of a vinegary and lemon nature, Solid sour flavor, some sweet tarts candy, vinegar, a bit of lemony citrus bent to it. Nice textured mouthfeel. Pretty solid Gose.
3.9 Bottle at home. Hazy bright golden pour. The aroma is a bit funky,wheat, crackery, faint lemon, horseblanket. Light bodied, creamy wheat palate, green berries, goose berries, tart, lemony, not salty but you know its in there. Pretty nice.
3.2 Flaska whole foods market bowery, nyc. Ljusgul kulör, ganska klar med vitt skum. Brödig doft med syrlig och örtig ton. Frisk smak med ganska lätt syra och lite sälta. Färsk gräs, örter och vetejäst.
3.9 Aroma - has abundant wheat shoe-horned in, with some fruity ester qualities and a soft funk of barnyard yeast Appearance - body is cloudy lemon-yellow, with a little nucleation, and some unfiltered yeast. The white head is massive and rocky - holding strong and then over time settles down and leaves a big tight bubbled head that slacks out at about 1/4" slice - nice looking Taste - is nice and tart, very organic and natural tasting. The flavor is wheat, and some faint lemon, the yeast takes on a nice flavor and is present. Palate - is medium, the texture is creamy, the carbonation lively - not too fizzy, the finish is short and most enjoyably doesn’t soak the palate in pucker. Very natural - almost tastes like something that happened on accident.