Gose

thumb|Traditional gose beer bottle produced in [[Leipzig, Germany]]

Gose () is a warm fermented beer that is usually brewed with at least 50% of the grain bill being malted wheat (with the rest being malted barley such as Pilsner malt), fruit syrupssuch as lemon and corianderand salteither added or as a component of the water used. It acquires its characteristic sourness through inoculation with Lactobacillus bacteria, which is not a hop-tolerant bacteria and which provides only a light acidity. Gose beers typically have very little hop aroma or bitterness (5-15 IBUs), limited malt flavour, and a relatively low alcohol content of 4 to 5% alcohol by volume. The predominant flavor is lactic acid, and the beers are strongly carbonated.

Gose has similarities with Berliner Weisse, which is also sour, and Belgian witbier, which also has coriander.

Since 2016, Leipzig, where the beer was popular for centuries, has celebrated Happy Gose Day annually on November 17th.

History

Gose was first brewed in between 1181 and 1470 in the town of Goslar, from which its name derives.

Originally, gose was spontaneously fermented. A description in 1740 stated, "" ("Gose ferments itself without the addition of yeast"). Gose was delivered, still actively fermenting, in casks to the taverns. Casks were stored in the cellar with the tap bung closed but the shive hole left open which allows some gas to escape, so that the carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>)—a by-product of fermentation from the still-active yeast—could escape. When fermentation had slowed to a point where no CO<sub>2</sub> was 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.

In 1824, Johann Gottlieb Goedecke began brewing gose at a manor house (rittergut) in Döllnitz. The , between Merseburg and Halle, was the last brewery producing gose. When it was nationalised and closed in 1945, gose disappeared temporarily. In 1949, Friedrich Wurzler, who had worked at the Döllnitz brewery and knew the techniques for brewing gose, opened a tiny brewery in Leipzig. and it closed in 1995. However, in 1999, Tilo Jänichen teamed up with the son of the last owner of Döllnitz Manor and modified the original gose recipe for his brewery.

Ale Mania (Bonn) - brews a gose with more coriander than usual, but less acidity, 5.0% ABV

USA

Anderson Valley Brewing Company (California) - released The Holy Gose in 2014; since then has added several gose varieties to its roster, including Blood Orange, Briney Melon, Cherry, Peach, POG, and G&T Gose
Druthers Brewing Company (New York) - brews Double Dare Strong Gose, a 7.1% ABV gose
Union Craft Brewing (Baltimore) - brews several varieties, including Old Pro, which won the silver medal in the German-Style Sour Ale category at the 2014 Great American Beer Festival
Westbrook Brewing (South Carolina) - brews a 4% ABV gose with sea salt and American ale yeast

History

USA

United Kingdom

New Zealand

References

Further reading