There’s a refreshing beer style from Germany that’s boldly sour, slightly salty, and mildly spicy with a herbal lean. It’s called Gose (pronounced Goes-Uh with a long “ō” in the middle). If you haven’t tried the wheat-forward beer, it’s time to get wise — especially with a hot summer on the way.
Our advice, grab a Westbrook or Lost Nation and crack one open right now. You’ll be greeted with a can of suds that’s refreshing and mildly sea salty with a flourish of herbs. The combination of exceptionally dry, tart, and, yes, salty beer is the perfect summer go-to sipper.
Gose is just starting to make a splash with craft brewers in America, making the old German style feel new. If you’re new to the briny world of gose, you’ll probably need a little help picking out the right bottles this summer. That’s why we asked some of our favorite brewers to tell us their most beloved gose beers to sip on all summer long.
Creature Comforts Tritonia
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Steven Pauwels, brewmaster at Boulevard Brewing Company
Tritonia with lemon and cucumber from Creature Comforts. They were at one of our first Boulevardia Taps & Tastes, which was outside in 100-degree blasting sun and it was amazingly refreshing in that weather.
Anderson Valley Blood Orange Gose
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Rhett Dougherty, head brewer at Veza Sur Brewing Co.
Anderson Valley Blood Orange Gose comes from a truly unique place in the country that’s a must stop for any true beer lover. This beer pairs the salinity and sweetness masterfully. My recommendation is to brush up on some Boontling (the traditional dialect of Boonville, California), travel to the Anderson Valley town of Booneville, and enjoy a world-class gose.
Two Roads Passion Fruit Gose
Mike Stoneburg, brewmaster at Blue Point Brewing
I think any of the Two Roads Gose variants are great beers. I like the Passion Fruit Gose. They are great people up there and great brewers on top of that. I’m a real fan of what they’ve got going on up in Stratford.
Reuben’s Gose
Josh Waldman, brewmaster at Elysian Brewing
Reuben’s Brews makes one of the best goses around (a Great American Beer Festival gold medal supports this). It has great salinity with a light tartness. It’s just a well-made gose.
Two Roads Persian Lime Gose
Cody Reif, research & development brewer at New Belgium
I really like Two Roads Persian Lime Gose. It’s hard to come by in Colorado so I pick it up whenever I see it. It’s the perfect blend of sour, citrus, and salt.
Seismic Danger Zone Gose
Scott Ungermann, brewmaster at Anchor Brewing
This is not really my favorite style, but I had an excellent experimental gose just yesterday. It was made with strawberry, cucumber, basil, and lime by a small brewer up north called Seismic brewing.
Westbrook Gose
Dan Weber, innovation brewer at Dogfish Head
This is a tough one because there are so many different goses nowadays, ranging from classic style to things that are closer to puree in a glass. But, I will give the nod to Westbrook for staying pretty true to the gose roots. It’s delicious and refreshing. If the more fruit based goses are what you are into, then The Veil is the spot to go to for me. They make some great fruity goses.
Bayerischer Bahnhof
Chris Rockwood, head brewer at Magic Hat
Leipziger Gose (Bayerischer Bahnhof): Slightly tart with a good balance of sweetness, this category-defining classic need not be improved upon.
Ritterguts Original Gose
Joe Connolly, Director of Springdale Beer
Ritterguts. A friend of mine has spent years mythologizing about the dead-eyed, smoking gose fiend on the label. I aspire to be an old German man drowning the aches of a lifetime of labor with salty beer. Plus, it’s delicious and avoids the trappings of being “salty” like so many American versions.
