Some days, it’s just way too much fun being a beer geek. Today was one of them, as I discovered a newly opened liquor store in Marietta, Georgia while Christmas shopping with my beloved Barbara. The name of the place is Beverage Resort, and as I browsed the large selections of singles and six-packs, one beer in particular caught my eye: Leipziger Gose brewed by the Bayrisher Bahnhof Brauerei und Gaststaettenbetrieb. Try saying that one three times fast.

It’s always a grand thing indeed for a beer enthusiast to discover a new beer. But to find a new style of beer, one never experienced before, now that’s something special indeed. And so it was for me and gose. To be sure, I’ve tasted more than a few beers in my day, belonging to a multitude of styles. But true German gose has been elusive. That should not be surprising. The style is native to a part of Germany that only recently emerged from under the Iron Curtain.

In Germany, beer is often a local phenomenon. Cologne is famous for its dry, fruity Kolsch beers. Dusseldorfers, meanwhile, boast of their lightly fruity, hoppy altbiers. Bavarians will tell you weissbier is the best thing ever, though in Berlin they brew theirs to much lower strength and with a distinctly acidic finish.

In Leipzig, a city in the state of Sachsen, though, the local specialty is called gose. A recent revival in the style that actually originated in nearby Goslar has brought it back into the spotlight as a rare and unique German beer style. A spiced wheat ale, Gose is most assuredly not Reinheitsgebot compliant. The style can be traced back for roughly 1000 years.

Brewed with 60% wheat and 40% malted barley, this is an exceedingly refreshing beer. A lactobaccilic fermentation adds additional tartness to the finish. The beer is not filtered and is bottle conditioned. Often, it is sold in bottles that resemble brew kettles. Mine, however, was packaged in a typical half liter brown glass bottle. Leipziger Gose is imported by B. United International.

So how is it?

Leipziger Gose pours to a deep russet-golden color with a thick rocky head formation and a spicy tart nose. The palate is medium bodied with a rich mouthfeel and a slightly fruity, toasty malt background. But the really interesting thing here is the sharp saltiness that coats the tongue just after sipping. That’s because gose is actually brewed with salt, along with coriander. That may sound strange, but it works here, and works nicely.

The intriguing saline character permeates the brew right on into the finish, where the coriander emerges along with a tart, slightly acidic character that complements the spiciness nicely.

Salty snacks are often served as a companion to beer, but how about a salty beer with your snacks? Gose matched perfectly with some lightly spiced parsnip, sweet potato, yucca, taro, and batato Terra chips.

Update 8/27/2017: You thought Gose was something new? Jackson was drinking it when you were in kindergarten. Lightly salty, tart wheaty and spicy with coriander, Leipziger Gose is a classic example of the style that I learned about from the Beer Hunter. He is sorely missed 10 years from his passing.

From the label:

Leipziger Gose is bottle-conditioned. Its flavor and taste profile are quite complex with pleasant notes of coriander on the palate. The salt level is calculated to be present and tangible but just below the level at which humans can actually "taste" salt.

The Gose style is named after the town of "Goslar", the historic origin of the style. Likewise, Goslar is named after the river "Gose".

I paid $1.99 for my 11-ounce bottle at Whole Foods.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft



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