Samuel Adams Got to Gose

Review Date 3/26/2016  Last Updated  9/8/2016  By John Staradumsky

  Style: Gose   Brewery: Boston Beer   Country: USA   State: Massachusetts   $ Per OZ: $.09 (B), $.68 (D)   ABV: 4.8%

The Samuel Adams Summer Variety pack is already in stores? Why spring just dawned a few days ago, and the fine folks at Boston Beer are already preparing for summer. That still seems a little early to me (indeed, Boston Beer doesn’t even have any information about the sampler posted on their website, nor the beers it contains). Never fear, that’s why I’m here.

Here’s what I got in the sampler, 2 bottles each of:

·         Samuel Adams Boston Lager

·         Samuel Adams Summer Ale

·         Samuel Adams Belgian Session

·         Samuel Adams Got to Gose

·         Samuel Adams Whitewater IPA

·         Samuel Adams Heaven or Helles

It’s the Samuel Adams Got to Gose that I’m here to talk about today. This beer and the Heaven or Helles are bother new brews in the sampler. Samuel Adams Got to Gose is not the first Gose that Boston Beer has done (they brewed up Samuel Adams Verloren Gose a few years ago), but it’s a little different than that beer.

That’s because, in addition to the classic salt and coriander found in Gose, Samuel Adams Got to Gose is also brewed with cucumber. This is the first cucumber beer I’ve come across (I know a few cucumber saisons are on the market). Not really Reinheitsgebot friendly, but then again neither are salt or coriander.

From the label:

Gose (pronounced “Goes-uh”) is a unique German style beer. Known for a slight tartness and mineral character. We brewed our Gose with an unexpected combination of ingredients, including a pinch of salt, coriander and spicy Saaz Noble hops to create a light and refreshing taste.

Samuel Adams Got to Gose has an alcohol content of 4.8% by volume and I paid $13.29 for my sampler 12-pack at Target (that's less than some 6-packs go for these days!). My bottle is notched as best by August 2016.

Samuel Adams Got to Gose pours to a pale yellow color with a light creamy head and a soft nose of salt and crisp cucumber. Taking a sip, the beer is really full of fresh garden cucumber flavor up front, a lot like biting into a freshly picked cucumber from my garden. The coriander barely comes through but the salt does at the last, and reminds me of dabbing a bit of salt on that cucumber I just picked. Not getting a lot of tartness or hops at the last, though they do balance the beer and make it very drinkable.

 I found Samuel Adams Got to Gose to be a very delicious and refreshing beer, one worthy to me of a full 5 stars. Not so much as a Gose, mind you, as I mentioned above its lacking critical elements for that style. That’s not what Boston Beer was aiming for here, though; as I said they’ve already done a more traditional Gose. No, the aim here seem to be a refreshing light bodied beer accenting cucumber for summer enjoyment. In that vein they have definitely succeeded, though I fear this beer is so delicate it may be lost on some. Then too, I’m not sure it will hold up all the way to August. Still, I highly recommend it, and it gets a big hedonistic boost from me in the rating department. The bargain price doesn’t hurt either.  

Update 9/8/2016:Samuel Adams Got to Gose showed up on tap at Taco Mac. The cucumber really popping on tap. $7.50 for an 11-ounce glass is a high price, but I'm a sucker for Sam Adams beers.

Glad I tried it?  T

Would I rebuy it??