Off Color Brewing built its reputation on unusual, historically inspired beers, and Beer for Tacos is one of its most straightforwardly fun: a gose with lime juice added, creating a bright, citric acidity layered on top of the base beer’s lactic tartness and pink Himalayan salt. It reads exactly like its name suggests, a beer built to pair with a taco.
Off Color Beer for Tacos at a glance
| Style | Gose (fruited sour wheat beer) |
| ABV | 4.8% |
| Calories | Around 140 per 12 fl oz |
| Origin | Off Color Brewing, Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Ingredients | Wheat and oat malt, Nugget hops, lime juice, coriander, pink Himalayan salt |
| Vegan | Yes |
| Gluten free | No, contains wheat |
| Typical price | Around $10 to $14 for a 4-pack of 16oz cans |
How it tastes, by the numbers
The lime addition gives Beer for Tacos a genuine citric-acid brightness on top of the base gose’s lactic sourness.
The full review
It pours a hazy pale straw with a light, fast-fading head from a wheat-and-oat base that gives the body a touch more roundness than the driest gose. The aroma is dominated by fresh lime, with coriander and a mineral saltiness underneath.
On the palate, pungent lime citrus snaps across a moderate lactic lemony acidity, balanced by a gentle wheaty sweetness and touch of oat-driven body. The lime juice addition gives the whole thing a juicy, almost margarita-like character.
It finishes crisp and clean, with the salt lingering just enough to remind you this is still a gose underneath the citrus. It is a genuinely fun, well-made beer that lives up to a gimmicky-sounding name.
A margarita’s flavour profile rebuilt from a gose base, and it actually works.
- Genuinely creative use of lime and salt on a gose base
- Fuller body than the driest session gose thanks to oats
- Distinctive, memorable branding backed by a well-made beer
- Regional distribution centred on the Midwest, harder to find elsewhere
- Some drinkers may find the lime character too dominant
- Higher ABV than the lightest session sours on this list
Who it is for
Drinkers who want a fun, citrus-forward sour to pair with Mexican food, and fans of inventive small breweries doing something different with a familiar style.
Off Color Beer for Tacos FAQs
What does Off Color Beer for Tacos taste like?
Pungent fresh lime citrus over a moderate lactic sourness, balanced by wheat and oat-driven body and a mineral, salty finish.
How strong is Off Color Beer for Tacos?
4.8% ABV.
Why is it called Beer for Tacos?
Off Color designed it as a margarita-inspired gose meant to pair with tacos, adding lime juice for a citric-acid brightness alongside the beer’s base sourness.
Is Off Color Beer for Tacos gluten free?
No, it is brewed with wheat malt.
Is Off Color Brewing a well-known sour beer producer?
Yes, the Chicago brewery is known for unusual, historically inspired beers, including several gose variants.
Where can I find Off Color Beer for Tacos?
Primarily distributed in the Midwest US, with some availability through specialty retailers elsewhere.
Where to find it
Available at craft beer retailers across the Midwest US, with more limited distribution outside that region.
The verdict
Off Color Beer for Tacos takes a gimmicky-sounding concept and executes it well, delivering a genuinely bright, well-balanced lime gose. A fun four point one out of five.
