Geisterzug Gose
Freigeist Bierkultur
- From:
- Freigeist Bierkultur
- Germany
- Style:
- Gose
Ranked #195 - ABV:
- 5%
- Score:
- 85
Ranked #29,176 - Avg:
- 3.77 | pDev: 9.02%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 64
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Nov 23, 2023
- Added:
- Nov 30, 2012
- Wants:
- 10
- Gots:
- 20
SCORE
85
Very Good
85
Very Good
Collaboration with Bayerischer Bahnhof Gasthaus & Gosebrauerei
Based on a recipe dating back at least six hundred years, this is Freigeist’s quirky version of the nearly-extinct traditional sour beer of Leipzig. “Geisterzug” (“Ghost Train”) spruced gose is unusually complex, funky, and full-bodied, the perfect modern-day medieval German ale.
Based on a recipe dating back at least six hundred years, this is Freigeist’s quirky version of the nearly-extinct traditional sour beer of Leipzig. “Geisterzug” (“Ghost Train”) spruced gose is unusually complex, funky, and full-bodied, the perfect modern-day medieval German ale.
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Reviewed by Nash39 from Florida
3.66/5 rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
3.66/5 rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
I like the Freigeist Bierkultur ghost logo on the neck of the bottle. There is no date on the bottle. The pour is a murky golden yellow color. The taste is tart, salt, baked biscuits, slight spruce & slight honey near the finish. All in all, this beer was not as bad as I expected considering how old my bottle is. Cheers! B
Nov 23, 2023
Reviewed by poisoneddwarf from Idaho
2.77/5 rDev -26.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3
2.77/5 rDev -26.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3
16.9 oz bottle from Pilgrim's. Aroma is wheat, lacto, lemony, oxidation. Pours lightly hazy golden with a one finger white head that falls into a big bubbly ring somewhat quick. Taste is very lightly tart. Not getting any salt or spruce. A little oxidized. A little underwhelming and obviously past its prime. 5,3,5,3,11
Jun 04, 2017
Reviewed by FLima from Brazil
3.68/5 rDev -2.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.68/5 rDev -2.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Golden color with a thick four fingers head with good retention.
Mild salty aroma with notes of coriander, lemony and lacto sourness, pine and bread.
Distinct flavor with notes of coriander, a bit of sea, lots of pomegranate, pear, soap, wheat, plums and dough. Maybe the spruce was overdone. Dry aftertaste and a low bitterness and finishing just a bit acid.
Light body with slightly effervescent carbonation.
Easy to drink Gose; more elegant than intense. I would tune down the spruce, but this might have been their proposal to differentiate from the crowd.
Jan 21, 2017Mild salty aroma with notes of coriander, lemony and lacto sourness, pine and bread.
Distinct flavor with notes of coriander, a bit of sea, lots of pomegranate, pear, soap, wheat, plums and dough. Maybe the spruce was overdone. Dry aftertaste and a low bitterness and finishing just a bit acid.
Light body with slightly effervescent carbonation.
Easy to drink Gose; more elegant than intense. I would tune down the spruce, but this might have been their proposal to differentiate from the crowd.
Reviewed by thepenguin from Massachusetts
3.65/5 rDev -3.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
3.65/5 rDev -3.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
L: Pours a mostly clear medium yellow-gold with a minimal head.
S: Spruce and juniper notes, with a mild sweatiness and some German Kölsch ale notes.
T: Very mild spruce and juniper, with understated tartness and a mild salinity. Quite dry, with some mild cracker-like malt, light wheat and slight citrusy acidity. Dry, but slightly off-putting spruce-like finish.
F: Light bodied with very moderate carbonation. Seems appropriately thin, but inappropriately undercabonated.
Thoughts: Highly drinkable and light, but ultimately lacking in character and the spruce quality happens to be a bit off-putting. The base recipe for this actually has the makings of a nice dry kölsch-gose hybrid, but in its current iteration with the spruce it simply doesn’t come together as well as one would like. I wouldn’t steer someone away from this beer, but I wouldn’t really recommend it either.
Jul 21, 2016S: Spruce and juniper notes, with a mild sweatiness and some German Kölsch ale notes.
T: Very mild spruce and juniper, with understated tartness and a mild salinity. Quite dry, with some mild cracker-like malt, light wheat and slight citrusy acidity. Dry, but slightly off-putting spruce-like finish.
F: Light bodied with very moderate carbonation. Seems appropriately thin, but inappropriately undercabonated.
Thoughts: Highly drinkable and light, but ultimately lacking in character and the spruce quality happens to be a bit off-putting. The base recipe for this actually has the makings of a nice dry kölsch-gose hybrid, but in its current iteration with the spruce it simply doesn’t come together as well as one would like. I wouldn’t steer someone away from this beer, but I wouldn’t really recommend it either.
Reviewed by biegaman from Canada (ON)
3.7/5 rDev -1.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.7/5 rDev -1.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Geisterzug ("Ghost Train") looks ugly but it must be good for your health: brewed with Lactobacillus (an essential, helpful digestive bacteria) and spruce (loaded with vitamin C and other nutrients), it also packs a ton of fiber and protein as evidenced by the deep, hazy complexion and dense marbling of sediment.
You'd expect eyebrow raising from a spruce-flavoured Gose, but this aroma really fails to excite. It's also fair to assume a great deal of distinctive, unusual flavour but this lives up to expectations about as much as 'Speed 2: Cruise Control'. The nose reveals a little more with warmth but still...
Fortunately the taste is about as exciting and action-packed as the Keeanu Reeves and Denis Hopper original. Pop quiz hot shot: what do you get when you combine a spritzy, saline mouthfeel with a pinch of zestful coriander spice, a high portion of malted wheat, and cooling, minty, evergreen spruce notes?
Answer: a kick-ass flavour. This Gose is disappointing in some regards, but taste is not one of them. That being said, most consumers will likely expect something a lot more tart and funky; this isn't convincingly either of those things, relatively speaking. It would have to be to earn a higher rating.
Freigeist is a phenomenal brewery but, it must be said, Geisterzug is not their strongest offering. For such a distinctive style and intentionally off-kilter recipe, it's actually a pretty humdrum beer. Nevertheless, be it known that this brewery doesn't only uphold German brewing traditions, they enhance and normally excel at them.
Jun 25, 2016You'd expect eyebrow raising from a spruce-flavoured Gose, but this aroma really fails to excite. It's also fair to assume a great deal of distinctive, unusual flavour but this lives up to expectations about as much as 'Speed 2: Cruise Control'. The nose reveals a little more with warmth but still...
Fortunately the taste is about as exciting and action-packed as the Keeanu Reeves and Denis Hopper original. Pop quiz hot shot: what do you get when you combine a spritzy, saline mouthfeel with a pinch of zestful coriander spice, a high portion of malted wheat, and cooling, minty, evergreen spruce notes?
Answer: a kick-ass flavour. This Gose is disappointing in some regards, but taste is not one of them. That being said, most consumers will likely expect something a lot more tart and funky; this isn't convincingly either of those things, relatively speaking. It would have to be to earn a higher rating.
Freigeist is a phenomenal brewery but, it must be said, Geisterzug is not their strongest offering. For such a distinctive style and intentionally off-kilter recipe, it's actually a pretty humdrum beer. Nevertheless, be it known that this brewery doesn't only uphold German brewing traditions, they enhance and normally excel at them.
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