Never heard of Gose? You’re not alone… it’s not a terribly common type of beer, though rumor has it that Dave at the Herkimer brewed some up and it’s quite tasty.
Gose is an oddball style of North German ale that is sort of a cross between a Belgian Wit and a Berliner Weisse. It’s brewed with 1/2 wheat malt, spicedwith coriander. The fermentation is via ale yeast spiked with lactobacillus, so the beer has a definite tartness to it. Lastly, an addition of sea salt gives it a nice roundness and an interesting if slight saltiness. We’re serving it in a voluptuous 23 oz Weizen glass. Come check it out.
I have only tried it once and it was a homebrewed version but I actually liked it quite a bit. The salt really does add something to the beer
Leipziger Gose, as a style it very nearly went extinct. It is kind of exciting to hear about a local brewer making one. I will have to run over there sometime.
this is the only one I’ve ever had:
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/4909/10683/?ba=feloniousmonk
may have to slip a visit to the HErk in my plans…
Just had some last night – pretty delicious. The glasses are stunning, custom silk-screened for the Herk, and the beer itself (despite being served with an orange, blech) was very well done. The spices blend well with the slight sour tang, there’s a good malt / wheat background, and the salt is there if you look for it. I’d be curious if someone could pick it out if they didn’t know it was there beforehand.
Definitely worth checking out!
I stopped at Herkimer’s last night after I saw your post. They’re serving the Gose in a really nice 22 oz glass – I don’t know if it is style-specific glassware but the beer drained neatly from glass to mouth. 😉
The Gose itself was _very_ enjoyable. Herkimer’s doesn’t mention the salt addition on the beer list but you can taste it if you know it is there. I love white beers so I’m biased but this seemed like the perfect hot weather beer: highly carbonated, tart citrus flavors and a touch of salt to compensate for an afternoon of sweating.
I asked how the beer was selling and the staff reported that it is very popular. They predicted that the barrel will run dry by the end of the weekend — hurry if you want a taste! The guy I talked to said that they will probably start up another batch as soon as the brewer is back on site so expect more Gose within 5 – 6 weeks.
kcmarshall
mmmmmmm…gose
got 2 growlers
Gose is bak on tap as of Thursday the 23rd of May. I suspect it will last about 10-12 days.
Looks like it’s still on tap.