Beer # 101 Opa's Gose Wild Oats Series # 5

 Opa's Gose

Beau's All Natural Brewing Company

Van Kleek Hill, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Gose (Salted and Spiced Beer) 5.0 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 600 ml.
$7.85 (Canadian) At LCBO 
Twitter: @beausallnatural 


Beau's is one of those hard working and quirky breweries. They are constantly innovating and pushing the boundaries, creating very interesting brews for special one offs for festivals and tap takeovers. So their stable of beers is almost impossible to keep track of with out a programme. Today's beer is from their "Wild Oats" series, and is a beer style... I've never heard of: Gose. This beer was invented in Leipzig Germany in the early 16th century. It is a salted and spiced beer which precludes it from being sanctioned under the Reinheitsgebot The German Beer Law of 1516 which states beer may only be made with water, barley, and hops. As well Gose is typified by the inclusion of 50% or more malted wheat. Gose was originally bottled in long necked green bottles that would form a "yeast plug" instead of a cork as the beer underwent a secondary fermentation in the bottle. The salt in the beer came from the water originally, and later was added to the beer. Also, the fermentation of the beer was spontaneous, in open vats like Lambics, but it was soon discovered how to use yeast to produce the same flavour.

Beau's is found in a small town which is geographically located at about the halfway point between Ottawa Ontario, and Montreal Quebec is a rich agricultural area of Eastern Ontario. Beau's was founded by father and son team of Tim and Steve Beauchesne on Canada Day (July 1st) 2006.

On with the Gose...

Cloudy Yellow gold in colour fluffy white head made up of medium sized bubbles. Very wheaty nose with hints of coriander  First sip is very thin and light. The coriander waits until the finish and the salt hits you in the end drying your tongue a bit and turning the mouthfeel mineral. There is a slight damp grain feel to it as well as some citrus. The taste of the wheat dominates but the malted barley is there hiding in the back. Aeration brings out the citrusy coriander but not much else.

At this point I added more sea salt as was indicated by the package.

Salt greatly improved the flavour. It is a very delicate balancing act of adding beer and adding salt to get the right mix (Fortunately it's a 600 ml bottle!) Salt turns the volume up on the muted notes of coriander and citrus. It also tones down the wet grain taste and rounds out the beer perfectly. Strangely it is not unlike drinking beer on the seaside. The sea salt coats the back of the palate and leaves a lingering ocean taste. Malt sugars show up as well leaving a salty-sweet sugary finish. Also... the salt increases the thirst and makes me want to drink more beer faster... a little bit of downside to it.


Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: N/A First one I have had
Re-Order:  4/6 PASS
Experience:  4/6 PASS

Final Thoughts:

This was a new experience for me... I have never tasted a Gose before. And it isn't that I didn't enjoy the beer, but tasting it without food and water was a little difficult. Under the correct circumstances this would be a good food beer, perhaps I can try it again the next time I make schnitzel. Just keep in mind the salt increases your thirst, have water ready, and drink it with a friend.

Cheers

CJT


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