Helle Gose
Brauhaus Goslar

 

Brauhaus Goslar "Gose Hell"
2,80€/,3L glass on tap at the brewery on 30 September 2021

Notes: O.G. 11.5˚ Plato, 4.8% ABV, 30 IBU. "Gose is a naturally cloudy, top-fermented wheat beer, which is mildly hopped and tastes malty and tasty." For more on Gosebier check out Ron Pattison's research at http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2007/08/gose.html

Look: Cloudy gold body beneath a finger's width of white foam. Good head retention and lacing.
Smell: Grainy malt with something odd... perhaps it's the salt?
Taste: Grainy, bready, wheaty, slightly fruity, slightly salty, and subtly acidic (not sour).
Feel: Medium-light in body with a softly effervescent, fine-bubbled carbonation that lends a gentle caress on the tongue.
Overall: While it may or may not be authentic given its limited acidity, it remains an interesting, enjoyable, and refreshing beer.
Review #7,718

 

 

L:
-pours a cloudy golden with a small to medium,foamy,white head
-low to medium carbonation visible
S:
-peach,coriander,orange,honey,vegetables,cereals
T:
-grassy,spicy,oranges,peach,slight banana,corn,cereals
-medium to high bitterniss for the style
F:
-medium carbonation
-light body
O:
Unfortunately this is not a Gose because the Brewery is too scared to work with lacto bacteria.
This all ends up as an o.k. spiced Wheat Beer instead of a Gose.

 

Pours a very hazy, amber color with a huge, froth head.

Smells of a tart lactic quality together with toffee malts, tied together by crisp citrus peel and a whiff of salt. Very intriguing on the nose, with all aromas creating a great balance.

Has a soft carbonation among a light, refreshing body, which still produces a very nice complexity.

Tastes of crisp, funk accompanied citrus peel, which gently blends into dough malts. A vivid, still soft mineralic, stony quality comes up, complimenting to the citrus tartness. Finishes with a pleasant citraic dryness and an aqueous silkness, producing a lemon juice finish.

Perfect Gose, while producing its defining freshness from the start, it displays a great, multi layered citrus fruitiness, which stays till the very end.

Hazy straw yellow pour with a foamy white two finger head with good retention and decent lacing. The nose is very subdued with hints of lemon, grain, caramel, subtle coriander, and minerals. The taste is malt forward with lots of caramel, some subtle citrus, specifically lemon, hints of grain, subtle coriander, and just enough saltiness to make it interesting, but not overpowering. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, subtly syrupy, with surprisingly light carbonation and a well balanced, and very unique salty-sweet finish. Overall, this was a very interesting first exposure to Gose. I expected more sourness, but the saltiness was very unique, almost like salted caramel. Not really sure about this one...

4.80% per my bottle's label. Best before: 07/2014. 50cl brown glass bottle with unbranded pry-off pressure cap acquired at Hopfen und Malz in Berlin, Germany and served cold into a Berliner Kindl Weisse glass in me friend's gaff in Berlin. Expectations are high; I don't think a Germany brewery makes a gose unless they're confident, and gosebiere seem to be their specialty.

Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

No bubble show forms as it's poured.

HEAD: Pours almost entirely foam. Four fingers wide. White colour. Nicely soft and fluffy. Decent consistency; it could be far more full. Billowing. Recedes fully within about 10 minutes - which is quite respectable, even at this average an ABV. Leaves spots of lacing, but nothing even or consistent.

BODY: Cloudy pale yellow. Milky. Average vibrance. Translucent but nontranparent. No floating yeast particulate or hop sediment is visible; it's a clean albeit obviously unfiltered beer. Looks healthy.

Seems a bit overcarbonated; it did gush a bit on opening and the head is overly foamy, but I'm optimistic. It's an apt appearance for a gose, but not perhaps a great one. Not unique or special, but then how many (authentic) gosebiere are really brewed?

AROMA: Lemon zest, clean barley, sea salt, and faint hints of soapy notes. Pleasant clean wheat. It's pleasantly surprising, and I'm looking forward to trying it. The light lacto-induced sourness could be (and I think should be) more prominent, but that might just be the sour-fiend in me. I'm not picking up on the coriander, but then my nose is broken (all apologies). It does have a lovely albeit subtle citrusy twang to it, which seems to suit the salt well. Light floral hop character.

A pleasant aroma of mild strength. I'm really looking forward to trying this. A nice aroma for a gose, though I admit the saltiness does still give me pause.

No alcohol or other off-notes are detectable.

TASTE: The body is simple yet effective - flaked wheat and clean barley. The salt is tame but complementary, and works well with the subtle coriander - though I would like more coriander, or even some cilantro. Floral hop notes. Lemongrass. Light citrusy twang. The lactic sourness - while more timid than would be ideal - complements the citrusy twang nicely. Balanced and enjoyable; this is one of the better gosebiere I've had in recent memory. Not complex or intricate, but it's got nuance and good subtlety. Built well. It's cohesive, but not gestalt.

Above average depth of flavour. Average duration and intensity of flavour.

TEXTURE: Smooth, wet, medium-bodied, aptly thick, and delightfully soft. Pleasing and approachable, with a great overall presence on the palate. Well-carbonated. Complements the taste quite nicely.

Not oily, gushed, hot, boozy, astringent, or harsh.

OVERALL: This is a stand-out gose for me, but I do regret not having had more beers in the style - though how many are there really to have? This is extremely drinkable (perhaps in spite of its saltiness) and I'd definitely get it again. Better than I remember the gosebiere in Leipzig being. This is my new benchmark for the style, but still I can envision a far better offering - ideally with more citrus, more lactic notes and sourness, and perhaps some cilantro. Definitely worth picking up. I'm glad I got to try it.

Low B

 

Half litre bottle. Poured a medium head, very pale colour, cloudy. Spicy paprika, herbal smell. Tasted notes of cucumber, red pepper, coriander, orange, lemon, salt and minerals. Reminded me of a Belgian sour. Normal mouthfull, interesting non Reinheitsgebot beer that would appeal to fans of Gueze.

500 ml bottle from Goslar

Pours slightly hazy beautiful pale yellow with slowly rising carbonation bubbles and large white head that slowly fades to white layer at the top, some patchy lacing. Aroma is malt, quite fruity, mostly citrus.

Taste is herbal hops, wheat, some fruity citrus with some astringency to it and rather dry finish. Mouthfeel is light with more than average carbonation.

Overall, very, very refreshing and tasty brew.

A: Pours a hazy, pale straw color with a thick, rocky head.
S: An appealing mix of coriander and bready yeast; slightly mineral.
T: A lactic sour twang greets the tongue. After this initial tart
flavor dissipates, the bready wheat malt comes through along with a faint mineral earthiness. The finish is a little rough, with a pithy combination of hops and yeast giving it a somewhat muddy finish.
M: Thin but not watery.
D: Despite the unlikely combination of lactic tartness and salty
earthiness, this is a quite refreshing, drinkable beer.

Overall: This might be the most Belgian Wit-like Gose of the three I've tried (the other two being Bayerisher Bahnhof and Döllnitzer Rittergutsgose). Of course, there are two significant distinctions between this and a Wit: the assertive sourness and the mineral contribution of the salt. Unlike the other Goses, the salt here simply provides a mineral quality as opposed to an actual saline flavor. While I personally prefer Döllnitzer, this was a very enjoyable beer and worth trying should the opportunity present itself.