What Is a Gose?

The emergence of Goses is a good example of how far the American beer taste has changed. We have gone from saying "tastes great, less filling" to appreciating a salty, German beer style that was all but extinct and whose name no one can pronounce in just one generation. (It is, for the record, go-suh.) But in other respects, that analogy is appropriate: With its lower ABV and lack of hop character, Gose has recently become popular, which could be interpreted as a response to the popularity of strong IPAs, much like Miller Lite was a response to America's then-infatuation with heavy-drinking lager.

What Is A Hefeweizen?

But let us take a moment to slow down. What exactly is a Gose? The German Beer Institute claims that the style has been around for 1,000 years. The Gose River and the town of Goslar, where it was first brewed, are the sources of its name. This salty character likely originated from the natural saltiness in Goslar's mineral-rich aquifers, in spite of the fact that salt is now added to the beer to give the style its peculiar salinity. But in 1738, the production of gose moved to Leipzig, where the salty style had gained enormous popularity by the turn of the 20th century. Sadly, Gose was nearly extinct due to World Wars and Germany's division until the fall of the Berlin Wall and the modern craft beer movement brought it back to life.

Despite the fact that salt is arguably the most peculiar component of gose, many other factors contribute to its distinctive flavor. Gose uses at least half malted wheat, which gives it some of the same qualities as many of Germany's other traditional wheat beer styles, in contrast to most beers, which are mainly made from malted barley. Lactobacillus bacteria ferment gose in addition to yeast, giving the style its characteristic tartness or sourness. Lastly, hops are added for flavor, but they are barely noticeable in a gose; instead, coriander is added, which usually has enough lemony or spicy flavor to balance out any hops that may be present. But, as with many contemporary interpretations of each style, brewers have eschewed all of these components, allowing for a wide range of saltiness, sourness, spice, and even hoppiness. The good news is that goses are excellent session beers because they consistently have lower ABVs.

Where can you try the renowned Gose, then? Gose is now divided into two groups by the Brewers Association. Given its German roots, "Leipzig-Style Gose" is considered the quintessential Gose. When attempting a Leipzig-Style Gose, it would be wise to try something straight from the source: It is true that the Gasthaus & Gosebrauerei Bayerischer Bahnhof made Leipziger Gose in Leipzig. This beer should be accessible without having to travel to Germany, despite its intimidating name. There are plenty of specialty bars and bottle shops that serve this well-balanced and somewhat muted classic gose. For a more contemporary take, "Contemporary Gose" usually intensifies some or all of the more distinctive flavors of Gose, such as tartness or salt. Since its release in 2012, the Westbrook Gose from South Carolina has served as a true standard bearer for the contemporary American Gose.

Not only is Gose difficult to pronounce, but some people say it is also difficult to love. In that case, I might recommend a Gose with training wheels. Whether you know what a Gose beer is or not, Anderson Valley's Blood Orange Gose from California is a tart, not overly salty Gose that adds enough blood orange flavor to make it one of your new favorite fruit beers.