I have an interesting story about Westbrook Gose that I’m going to get into in a moment. First, though, a little about the style. Gose is a little known style of beer native to Leipzig, Germany. Gose is an ale and a wheat beer, one of the few ale styles native to Germany. It’s usually moderate in alcohol, around 4% to 5% by volume, and is renowned for its tartness and saltiness. What’s that you say? Saltiness? Yes indeed, for gose is spiced with both coriander and salt.
Along with Berliner Weiss, Gose is one of those styles you almost never see. I find this sort of annoying, since so many breweries these days are fooling around with new styles. All well and good, I say, but let’s cover the existing ones first, shan’t we?
I’ve only had a few examples of Gose in my lifetime, and that’s out of 4423 different beers tasted. So I can tell you it wasn’t for lack of looking. Leipziger Gose is an authentic version imported from Germany, and comes in a really neat bottle, too. Recently, Samuel Adams released Verloren, their version of Gose. And of course there’s Westbrook Gose, the version under consideration today.
Here’s a bit from the Westbrook website about the beer:
GOSE
4% ABV 5 IBU
This is our interpretation of Gose (pronounced “Gose-uh”), a traditional German-style sour wheat beer brewed with coriander and salt. Once nearly extinct, this very refreshing style is making a comeback.
First Released: April 2012
Availability: Draft and 22oz bottles
OK, now for the interesting story.
I enjoyed Westbrook Gose on draft at my local Taco Mac. I had seen it on their website a week before but was concerned that it would be gone before I got there. Luckily, it was still on the draft list when I stopped by on a Thursday night. So, I ordered one up. It was a bit pricey at $7 for a pint (in my case 20 ounces, a perk of being a regular here). But what the heck. We live but once, and you don’t come across much gose in that once.
I was surprised, and to be quite frank rather alarmed, to see my server return without my brewniversity mug. Had the keg kicked after all? Luckily, such dire suppositions were not borne out, and instead she set a shot glass before me. A shot glass of beer, Westbrook Gose to be precise.
No, the government shutdown had not somehow caused a horrible discombobulation of the measurement system. Instead, my server suggested that I try the beer first as a lot of folks had been put off by it and had sent it back. Surprised, I downed it and was delighted. As I suspected, many just did not understand the style. Surprising that, since people that come here usually understand beer. Most beer anyway.
My full mug of Westbrook Gose then arrived, an amazing grainy, cloudy yellow in color, much resembling a glass of yellow salt water. That comes from the salt, and indeed you can see grains of salt on the side of the shot glass in the photo at right. The beer features a subtle wheaty nose, and upon sipping an immediate intense tartness and puckering sourness followed by some coriander spice, bready wheat and at the last a big blast of salt. The cool thing about this beer is that the sourness combined with the bready wheat and salt make this so much like a soft baked sourdough pretzel in a glass it's uncanny.
Westbrook Gose is even saltier and tarter than the Leipziger Gose. I’m not sure of it is the sourness or the saltiness that put off the inexperienced beer drinkers that sent it back here at T-Mac, but their loss is my gain. You shouldn’t miss it.
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