While there are many beer choices when it comes to spring drinking, we think the season belongs to the classic Gose. Named for the German city of Goslar, this beer has only gained in popularity over the past decade in the US, though its history can actually be traced back more than 1,000 years (it didn’t get really popular until the 1700s when the style came to the larger city of Leipzig).
Contemporary Gose-style beers are usually brewed with Pilsner malt and wheat malts with lactic acid added to the wort and coriander and salt for flavor. Originally, though the salty flavor came from the unusually high salinity of Goslar’s water. Salty, tart, and highly refreshing, the Gose is a perfect beer for the warm spring days ahead.
Now that we’ve made you thirsty, it’s time to actually find some Gose-style beers. Luckily, there are more than a few available at the average grocery store, beer store, and corner store these days. Keep reading to see eight of our favorites, ranked based on flavor and seasonal appropriateness.
8) Terrapin Watermelon Gose
ABV: 4.5%
Average Price: $12 for a six-pack
The Beer:
The first Gose ever made by Athens, Georgia’s Terrapin Brewing, Terrapin Watermelon Gose is a kettle-soured beer brewed with Pilsner malts and white wheat as well as Vanguard hops. Watermelon flavor and lactic acid give this beer a sweet, tart, acidic kick.
Tasting Notes:
The aroma is fairly muted with a light, generic-smelling watermelon aroma. Also, on the nose are yeasty bread and salty. The salinity continues on the palate and pairs with more watermelon fruity flavor, hay, citrus peels, and a ton of tart, lactic flavor. It’s refreshing and acidic but muted and one-dimensional.
Bottom Line:
If you’re a fan of synthetic-tasting watermelon and you prefer your beer slightly muted, this is the Gose for you. Otherwise, it might not be your full jam.
7) Cigar City Margarita Gose
ABV: 4.2%
Average Price: $12 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Who doesn’t love a well-made margarita on a warm spring day? How about if it’s in beer form? Well, if that’s your jam, you’ll love Cigar City Margarita Gose. This Traditional German-style Gose is brewed with salt and gets its margarita presence from the addition of orange and lime peel.
Tasting Notes:
Cracking this beer open and taking in the nose makes you think you’re breathing in the aromas of a traditional margarita. There’s a lot of lime and salt. The palate continues this with tart lemon, orange, and lime being the main ingredients along with a decent amount of salt. It’s tart, salty, and loaded with citrus.
Bottom Line:
While not a bad beer, this is a bit of a one-trick salty, citrusy pony. It’s a beer for margarita fans plain and simple.
6) Dogfish Head SeaQuench
ABV: 4.9%
Average Price: $11 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Few beers are as aptly named as Dogfish Head SeaQuench. This thirst-quenching beer is a mix of a refreshing Kölsch-style beer, a tart Berliner Weiss, and a salty Gose. It gets added flavor from being brewed with black limes, sour lime juice, and sea salt.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is all biscuit-like malts, ripe lime, and sea salt. The palate is tart, salty, and highly refreshing with flavors of wheat, lemon peels, lime pulp, and sea salt throughout. It’s the kind of beer that needs to be tasted to be believed.
Bottom Line:
This is a unique beer that definitely isn’t for everyone. But fans of this beer love its tart, salty, extremely thirst-quenching flavor profile.
5) Avery Gose Con Sandia
ABV: 4.5%
Average Price: $11 for a six-pack
The Beer:
If you’re a fan of Avery, you’ve probably enjoyed a can or two of its popular Gose-style beer called El Gose. Well, now the brewery has another version, and it’s called Avery Gose Con Sandia. It was created to pay homage to the Mexican tradition of adding lime and salt to beer. It’s a traditional German-style Gose with sea salt, lime, and watermelon.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find lime peels, lemon zest, wheat, sea salt, and light watermelon aromas. There’s more of the same on the palate. Drinking it reveals notes of yeast, wheat, tart citrus, sweet watermelon, and sea salt. Salty, sweet, and refreshing.
Bottom Line:
Sea salt, tart citrus, and fruity watermelon, this beer has everything you need in a refreshing spring beer. Crack one open and get an early start on the season.
4) Anderson Valley Briney Melon Gose
ABV: 4.2%
Average Price: $11 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Brewed with Pale 2-row malt, malted white wheat, rice hulls, house yeast, and Chinook hops, it gets added fruity flavor from the addition of watermelon (hence the Briney Melon name). Sea salt adds another dimension to this already memorable beer.
Tasting Notes:
Sea salt, coriander, watermelon, cereal grains, and wheat are prevalent on the nose. Sipping it brings forth hints of tart citrus, bright watermelon, and light acidity, with a slight salinity throughout. The finish is fruity, tart, and salty in the best way possible.
Bottom Line:
Citrus seems to be a popular Gose flavor, but so is watermelon. When it comes to the latter, Anderson Valley’s version is by far the best.
3) Two Roads Persian Lime Gose
ABV: 4.5%
Average Price: $13 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
This 4.5.% refresher starts off as a classic German-style Gose with an added kick of flaked rye. It’s blended with Persian lime juiced sourced locally. The result is a fresh, lime-filled, tart, salty Gose you’ll drink all year long.
Tasting Notes:
Yeasty bread, bright lime, citrus peels, cereal grains, and sea salt are big aromas on the nose. One sip and you’ll be immersed in a world of spices, sea salt, fresh lime juice, lemon zest, and a light, tart acidity throughout. The finish is loaded with more lime juice. It ends salty, tart, and dry.
Bottom Line:
While some fruit-centric beers (especially Goses) taste a little generic or synthetic, Two Roads Persian Lime Gose tastes like it’s a salty, tart beer mixed with a shot of fresh lime juice. Probably because it sort of is.
2) Westbrook Gose
ABV: 4%
Average Price: $13 for a six-pack
The Beer:
One of the first Gose-style beers many of us tried, Westbrook Gose doesn’t rely on random fruit flavors to add to the complexities of this well-made beer. This classic, German-style Gose is brewed with Acidulated and Pale malts, wheat, American ale yeast, and CTZ hops. It gets its unique flavor from the addition of coriander and sea salt.
Tasting Notes:
Before your first sip, you’ll be greeted with aromas of tart citrus peels, coriander, sea salt, and sweet wheat. That elegant, simple start leads your palate into a sip filled with funky yeast, lactic acid, lemon zest, orange peel, coriander, and memorable sea salt. It’s crisp, salty, and highly refreshing.
Bottom Line:
This beer shines in its simplicity. There’s nothing extra to take away from the sour, tart, spicy, salty flavor profile.
1) Creature Comforts Tritonia
ABV: 4.5%
Average Price: $14 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Creature Comforts Tritonia is a special beer. This traditional, German-style Gose is brewed with lime, sea salt, coriander, house lactobacillus, and cucumber. The result is a sweet, sublimely refreshing, salty beer well-suited for a hot day, but just as delicious on a cold one.
Tasting Notes:
A lot is going on with this beer’s nose. Bright, vibrant, freshly sliced cucumber is dominant. But there are also notes of fresh lime zest, funky wheat, and lightly floral, earthy aromas. Drinking it is like sipping on summer. There are notes of fresh cucumber, key lime, wheat, coriander, and a nice kick of salt throughout. Fresh, salty, sweet, and highly sessionable.
Bottom Line:
If you only drink one Gose, make it Creature Comforts Tritonia. Regardless of the weather outside, this salty, sweet, cucumber-centric Gose taste like warm, sunny weather in a can.
