Gose

Not to be confused with Gueuze.

For the river in Germany, see Gose (river). For the city in Japan, see Gose, Nara. For the coastal commune in Albania, see Gosë.

Traditional gose beer bottle produced in Leipzig, Germany.

Gose beer, brewed in Bonn, Germany (2014).

Gose is a top-fermented beer that originated in Goslar, Germany. It is brewed with at least 50% of the grain bill being malted wheat.

Dominant flavours in gose include a lemon sourness, an herbal characteristic, and a strong saltiness (the result of either local water sources or added salt). Gose beers typically do not have prominent hop bitterness, flavours, or aroma. The beers typically have a moderate alcohol content of 4 to 5% ABV.

Because of the use of coriander and salt, gose does not comply with the Reinheitsgebot - it is allowed an exemption on the grounds of being a regional specialty. It acquires its characteristic sourness through inoculation with lactobacillus bacteria after the boil.

Gose belongs to the same family of sour wheat beers which were once brewed across Northern Germany and the Low Countries. Other beers of this family are Belgian Witbier, Berliner Weisse, Broyhan, and Polish Grodziskie.

History

Gose was first brewed in the early 16th century in the town of Goslar, from which its name derives. It became so popular in Leipzig that local breweries copied the style. By the end of the 1800s, it was considered to be local to Leipzig and there were numerous Gosenschänken (gose taverns) in the city.

Originally, gose was spontaneously fermented. A description in 1740 stated "Die Gose stellt sich selber ohne Zutuung Hefe oder Gest" ("Gose ferments itself without the addition of yeast"). Sometime in the 1880s, brewers were achieving the same effect by using a combination of top-fermenting yeast and lactic acid bacteria.

Gose was delivered, still actively fermenting, in barrels to the Schänken. Casks were stored in the cellar with the tap bung closed but the shive hole left open, so that the still-active yeast could escape. When fermentation had slowed to a point where no yeast were emerging, the gose was ready to bottle. The barrel was emptied into a tank, whence it was filled into traditional long-necked bottles. These were not closed with a cap or cork, but with a plug of yeast (flor) which naturally rose up the neck as the secondary fermentation continued.

By the outbreak of World War II, the Rittergutsbrauerei Döllnitz, between Merseburg and Halle, was the last brewery producing gose. When it was nationalised and closed in 1945, gose disappeared temporarily. In 1949, the tiny Friedrich Wurzler Brauerei opened at Leipzig; Friedrich Wurzler had worked at the Döllnitz brewery and had known the techniques for brewing gose. Before his death in the late 1950s, Wurzler passed the recipe to his stepson, Guido Pfnister. Brewing of gose continued in the small private brewery, though there appears to have been little demand. By the 1960s there were no more than a couple of pubs in Leipzig and possibly one in Halle that were still selling it. When Pfnister died in 1966 the brewery closed and gose production again ceased.

In the 1980s, Lothar Goldhahn, then restoring the former gosenschenke "Ohne Bedenken", decided that it was suitable that the revived pub should sell gose. After querying drinkers to ascertain its precise characteristics, Goldhahn searched for a brewery to produce it. No local brewery was willing to make such an odd beer until the Schultheiss Berliner-Weisse-Brauerei on Schönhauser Allee in East Berlin agreed. The first test brews were made in 1985 and production started in 1986.

After briefly disappearing again in 1988, gose has again found popularity. The style continues to be brewed outside Germany.

Current gose breweries

United States

Rapp Brewing in Largo, FL has had their "Rapp Gose" on offer since they opened their doors in 2012. The beer enjoys regional distribution and acclaim, as well as having won several awards.

In the United States, both Off Color Brewing in Chicago and Anderson Valley Brewing in California offer the style year-round. Lost Nation Brewing in Vermont has also been brewing Gose since opening in July 2013.

Earthen Ales in Traverse City, MI has created Gose w/Sumac, brewed with organic sumac berries, south of there Newaygo Brewing Company has a Himalayan Gose on tap that they introduced at the annual "Brewaygo" event and quickly made the regular rotation of beers.

Exile Brewing Company in Des Moines, IA introduced "G-Funk Gose" in 2015 as their second sour beer. The Union Craft Brewery in Baltimore sells gose in cans under the name "Old Pro" as a summer special. At the Great American Beer Festival 2014, the Old Pro gose won the silver medal in category 66 (German-Style Sour Ale). The Sierra Nevada Brewery started brewing Otra Vez gose year-round starting in January 2016. Schell's Brewery of New Ulm, Minnesota, also produces a line of Gose beer as well. Alementary Brewing Company of Hackensack, New Jersey brews a gose-style ale with Key Lime, coriander and sea salt.

Canada

Nickel Brook Brewing Co, located in Burlington, Ontario, started producing a Gose with cucumber juice, lime juice and lime zest under the name Ceres in Summer of 2016. It also produced a Gose dry-hopped with Citra under the name Duplicitous in late Summer 2016. Collective Arts Brewing, located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada started producing a Gose under the Prophets and Nomads name in Early Summer of 2016. Good Robot Brewery in Halifax, Nova Scotia produces a Gose under the name "Goseface Killah". It has proved to be one of their most popular beers. Bellwoods brewery in Toronto produced a Blood Orange Gose in June 2017. The summer of 2017 saw Calgary, Alberta based brewery, Wild Rose, release their own seasonal version of a gose branded as "Ponderosa Gose." Traditional flavours of coriander and salt are present in this low ABV brew. In Victoria, BC, Driftwood Brewery produces a flavourful gose under the name "Cry Me A River".

Australia

Several breweries in Australia currently brew Gose; these include Willie the Boatman, Nomad and Bacchus.

The Netherlands

In 2017, the Poesiat & Kater brewery started brewing gose using mango.

England

Brew By Numbers, London brews a Farmhouse Gose (18|04) using coriander and salt and Wild Beer Co, Somerset make a gose called Sleeping Lemons brewed with salt and preserved lemons. Chorlton Brewing Company in Manchester brew a limited edition "imperial black gose" each year called Dark Matter. The 2016 version was aged on Persian black limes. The first commercially produced Gose of notoriety in UK is Salty Kiss from Magic Rock Brew Co. in Huddersfield. It is internationally recognised, having won a gold medal at the World Beer Cup.