Education on Gose

Agree with this. From what I have read, traditional Gose was more sour even than traditional Berliner Weisse -- which is about as sour a beer as I have tasted. That type of sourness is missing in the Westbrook version; but what I find more off-putting is their relatively heavy-handed use of salt (and coriander). The beer also just feels wrong to my palate -- and compared to the versions I have drunk in Leipzig and Goslar (although some of those versions are less than authentic recreations themselves) -- as it became almost cloying after half a bottle. Agree with the others who have said that the Ritterguts one is probably the standard-bearer.

 

I'm not sure this is true. Tap Brewing Co. (when they were still Haverhill Brewery) had a pretty good gose a few years back. Also, Barrier in NY had a gose on tap a few years back as well. Druthers does a fantastic one, but I think they're relatively new. It was definitely a niche brew, but I wouldn't give singular -- or even most -- credit to one brewery.

That being said, we don't get Westbrook in MA, so anybody looking to send some up this way in a trade, let's roll! I've heard great things.

 

Sours... not quite, but working towards the realm. Usually it's something like a flemish/flanders/gueuze/wild ales/lambic/etc.

As for Gose, it's middle of the road. I thought it wasn't sour enough, didn't have enough spicing for my taste. Not much salt, but did have a nice citrusy aspect to it.

That said, regardless of "to style" my favorite has been Westbrooks Gose, and Stillwaters Gose gone wild.

 

This was my first one, chosen because I believe it has the beset chance of being authentic to the history of the style. I was not disappointed as it was delicious. I've since had Westbrook, and while delicious, it seems to be brewed much more with volume sales in mind than tradition.

 

Never had it. I was just curious as to what would put it out of style. I recently had Cascade Gose and thought it was quite good. Also, the Cigar City 5 Beers for 5 Years Gose was good but very heavy on the coriander (in a good way--lots of juicy citrus). The only German example I've had is Bayerisher Banhof and wasn't that into it.

I guess my stylistic point of view is that this should be a moderately to strongly sour, dry wheat beer with a subtle citrus character from coriander and a background body and savory character form the salt. I don't even know if there is a strong enough continued tradition in Germany to credibly say what and what isn't "valid" or "authentic" for this style. Many more American brewers are making it at this point and Cascade at least has been making great examples for over 4 years now.

 

I'd love to try the westbrook version some time. "Cloying" seems wrong to me for the style but it's obvious that many people think it's a great beer so I would like to know why. Like I already said, I really don't care about style as long as the beer is good. The idea of gose is simple and clear enough that it seems like any good brewer could pull off a good version.

 

Happy to send you some if you like. I use "cloying" in the sense of being excessive (in the saltiness and coriander-flavor) and, after half the bottle, taking on a somewhat syrupy quality/mouthfeel. I also think people get into trouble precisely because the idea/recipe/style guidelines seem simple and/or clear -- especially when they haven't drunk any examples in their native environment/at the source. In the case of Gose, the water profile in Goslar had a major influence on the flavor of Gose. While it is certainly possible to replicate that using brewing salts, if you've never actually tasted the beers from Goslar, you're engaging in a purely academic activity -- which sometimes works but more often doesn't IMO.

 

Would you make the same claim, then, about Berliner Weisse?

 

Get your hands on this. Had some yesterday and Strumke himself says it isn't a traditional gose, in that it is more tart and a bit less salty. It is very flavorful and some great stuff. Super sour and delicious. It is a play on Westbrook's Gose and reminds me of the Gozu, but with less of a citrus tartness.

 

Too sour? Gose is supposed to be really sour.

 

Yeah, WTF. I've been on BA for like two years, and never heard of Westbrook. Now this past month it's being name dropped all over the place. Did they just have a special release or expansion into a new region? Seriously, what gives?

 

This year's batch was released in (late?) April, so that explains part of it. The rest is probably part of the general growth of this site, of craft beer, of the resurgence of session(able) beers, and of the increasing interest in sour beers.

FWIW I've been hearing about their Gose for well over a year now.

 

Try every German example sold in the US and I think you'll find that is untrue.

 

I second this question. Berliner Weiss is noted for maintaining its character over time, yet Westbrook Gose cans state drink within 120 days. My favorite local shop (all refrigerated storage) has had Ritterguts Gose since they opened nine months ago. Am I good to still go buy, drink and enjoy this? Does it hold up for years or mere months?

 

Well Ritterguts Gose is pretty damn sour.

Historical accounts of Gose are pretty unanimous about how it tasted: even sourer than Berliner Weisse.

 

Interesting.
I've had 3 goses at this point, Rapp, Westbrook, and Anderson.
Westbrook was the most lacto up front, then Rapp, and last Anderson. They are all really good, just slightly more or less sour. I'm going to look for this Ritterguts one now.

I've learned from homebrewing a Gose is basically a Berliner Weisse with coriander and salt added to the end of the boil.

 

Do it, Ritterguts is the tits!

 

I had a special release from Sam Adams called 26.2 that tasted like most of their other wits, but with a generous helping of salt. Supposedly it was a Gose, but like many others on this thread I haven't had enough experience to know if it was a representative or interpretive example of the style. I'm guessing the later. Either way, I was not impressed.

 

Had Ritterguts, Anderson Valley's Holy Gose and Alamanac's Golden Gate Gose...The Holy Gose was the sourest of the 3 and the one I liked the most. Alamanac doesn't distribute to PA but I got it at House of 1000 Beers memorial day weekend

 

I just had this on Saturday. It was really, really good.

Compared to other beers, yes, it is salty. If you are a supertaster or otherwise sensitive to sodium, I could see it being too salty. I myself am not, and found that it didn't have a ton of saltiness on first blush, but towards the end of the glass, the salt asserted itself a bit more, and very pleasantly. There is a lot going on in the beer that I found the salt to be an excellent complement to - the flavor reminded me of an amped-up, soured, and salted Altbier. And I mean that in the best way possible.

I can't imagine there is any American brewery making anything called Gose that is even close to as good as that Ritterguts. I will be ordering that beer every time I see it.