Shake It Up With A Little Salt: The ancient German style of Gose
I know it was more than a decade ago when I first heard of Gose (pronounced goes-uh), a 1,000-year-old German beer style made with wheat, coriander and salt. I do not remember who first told me about it, but a good guess would be Randy Mosher or Ray Daniels. Both are always pulling odd historical beers out of nowhere. At the time, commercial examples of Gose were extremely limited. A local homebrewer brought some back from Germany, so we had a few ounces of experience with the style before trying to brew one. Still, it was a challenge judging this newfound style. Was that too much coriander? Too little salt? Was the souring right?
I count myself very lucky that professional brewer Jeff Griffith contacted me about Gose around the same time. Griffith was experimenting with making the perfect Gose and we discussed those questions everyone seems to have about salt, coriander and sourness. I think it was in 2007 when I got the opportunity to try many of Griffith’s commercial beers, including his Gose. I thought at the time that his Gose was a solid example, but Griffith is a perfectionist when it comes to brewing and he was determined to have the best Gose possible. Every time I saw Griffith after that, we would talk about Gose and he would have me try the latest iteration. Sure enough, it was not long before Griffith was making the best example of Gose I have ever tasted.
A great Gose, like any beer style, is about balance. In Gose, it is a balance between the tart lactic acid, the sweetening effect of the salt, the peppery coriander, and the breadiness of the malt. None of these characteristics should overwhelm the others. The tartness is a light lactic sourness, not nearly as strong as would be found in Berliner weisse or lambic. Instead, it adds a tart counterbalance to the bready malt and sweetening effect of the salt. (While not sweet on its own, salt counteracts the bitterness in beer, which helps with the overall balance of this beer style.) The salt is just a background character, providing balance and a subtle hint of salt, not an outright saltiness. The coriander provides a peppery, floral, citrus note, similar to witbier. The overall aroma is clean, with hints of coriander and lactic sourness that can come across as citrusy. Hop aroma, as well as hop flavor, should be non-existent. Hop bittering is just a balancing note in this style. Overall, the beer is crisp, dry to semi-dry, and refreshing. It should have a medium body and high carbonation. Color ranges from straw to gold, with clarity that ranges from slightly hazy to cloudy. One word of warning if you want to brew a great classic example of this style and count on examples brewed in the United States: Most brewers in the USA make their Gose far too sour.
Griffith is now head brewer at FATE Brewing Company in Boulder, Colorado, where he continues to exercise his quest for flawless beer, including Gose. At FATE, his delicious Uror Gose is even available aged in tequila barrels. I asked Griffith to provide his latest recipe and to offer tips for brewing the perfect Gose. Probably his most critical tip, “Less is more with this beer. Nothing is worse than an over-salted beer.”
While not sweet on its own, salt counteracts the bitterness in beer, which helps with the overall balance of this beer style.
The basic grist for an authentic traditional Gose would be 60% wheat malt and 40% Pilsner malt. Griffith’s recipe goes further. While he has 40% wheat malt, 30% Pilsner malt, he also includes a substantial portion (11% each) of flaked oats and flaked wheat, which add head and body forming proteins. Flaked oats, especially, can add to the mouthfeel of the beer.
He also adds a small portion of Munich malt (5%) and acid malt (3%). The Munich malt can assist in developing that bread-like malt character and the acid malt can help with mash pH. It is possible to derive all of your souring from just acid malt or from the addition of lactic acid, but in this case, Griffith uses the acid malt to provide his starting culture in a sour mash. Since his recipe uses a substantial amount of huskless grain, Griffith also adds rice hulls to aid in lautering his mash. Generally, adding about 0.5–1 lb. (0.25–0.5 kg) of rice hulls to a 5-gallon (19-L) batch provides enough husk material to avoid a stuck mash.
You can use other base malts, such as Vienna, but the light, grainy and bready taste of high quality Pilsner and wheat malt is right on target for this style. You can add some melanoidin-rich malts such as aromatic or melanoidin, but as Griffith says, less is more. Other than the use of Munich and acidulated malt, avoid overloading the beer with too many other specialty malts, keeping it to no more than 5% of the grist and do not include any crystal/caramel malts. Bready notes are nice, but you are shooting for a crisp, refreshing, light-colored beer.
Extract brewers can use wheat malt extract, either 100% or blended, but will need to do a partial mash if they want the effect of the flaked oats and flaked wheat that Griffith uses.
Griffith employs a triple decoction to develop the bready maltiness and then follows it up with a sour mash technique to develop the needed acidity for this beer.
Griffith Gose Decoction Mash Schedule
1. Mash in at 95 °F (35 °C). Rest 20 minutes.
2. Pull 1⁄4 of mash to a separate pot. Raise to 152 °F (67 °C). Hold for 30 minutes. Raise to boil. Boil for 30
minutes. Return to main mash for a target mash temperature of 122 °F (50 °C).
3. Pull 1⁄4 of mash to a separate pot. Raise to 152 °F (67 °C). Hold for 30 minutes. Raise to boil. Boil for 30
minutes. Return to main mash for a target mash temperature of 148 °F (64 °C).
4. Pull 1⁄3 of mash to a separate pot. Raise to boil. Boil for 30 minutes. Return to main mash for a target mash
out temperature of 168 °F (76 °C).
5. Allow mash to cool below 130 °F (54 °C). Add some additional crushed malt (Griffith uses about 0.25 lb./0.11 kg acidulated malt) to the surface of the mash. The bacteria present on the grain will begin to sour the mash. When the mash reaches the proper pH range, lauter, sparge, and boil as normal.
Those who know me know I like to avoid the work of decoction whenever possible. Griffith suggests lazy people like me can use a single infusion at 150 °F (66 °C). The sour mash, on the other hand, might seem like a lot of work at first, but it is really just more of a waiting game. All brewing grains have bacteria on them. When added to the mash at temperatures where they will thrive, the bacteria will quickly sour the mash. The more grain you add, the more bacteria you are adding and the quicker the souring will occur.
About 0.25–0.5 lb. (0.11–0.23 kg) is right. The best way to monitor progress is to check the pH of the mash. In this case, a pH around the low 4 pH range is about right depending on other aspects of your recipe. This will take around 12 to 24 hours at 100–120 °F (38–49 °C), but more or less time is possible. The longer you leave the mash, the more sour it will become. It is possible to leave it too long, ending up with an overly sour Gose.
There are a couple of other tricks to a great sour mash. You want sour, but not funky. The first tip is to make sure your mash is 4.5 pH or lower before you start. You might need to add acid malt or even lactic acid to your mash to reach this pH, but it will greatly reduce the funk. Another trick is to seal off the mash tun, perhaps with plastic wrap and then flush the surface of the mash with CO2 or argon gas to minimize oxygen pick-up.
Although I have never tried it, I see no reason not to try something similar in extract brewing. Just add some crushed grain to the wort and then treat as if it were a mash. It should sour in a similar manner to the all-grain mash. Once soured, separate the wort from the grain and boil as normal.
Griffith adds about 1⁄3 tsp. (1.8 g) sea salt crystals and 0.43 oz. (12 g) crushed coriander to a 5-gallon (19-L) batch at flameout. As in any spice addition, you may find your preference for the coriander and salt differs.
Choose a salt that does not have iodine added. One thing to be aware of when dealing in salt measurements is that different forms (flake, fine, large crystal) and different brands will have different weights for a given volume. It is best to measure your salt by weight if you can. If not, try about 1⁄4 tsp. for a 5-gallon (19-L) batch. You can always add more salt once the beer is fermented (but do it before carbonation to avoid a foamy mess).
At most, hop character is just a slight background note in Gose, but I still prefer German-grown hops when making German beers. Magnum is my favorite, but other hops will work well. You want to avoid very low alpha acid hops so that you do not need to add so much that the flavor comes through. The same goes for very high pungency hops, with lots of pine, catty or other American-hop characteristics. The bitterness to starting gravity ratio (IBU divided by the decimal portion of the specific gravity) ranges from 0.1 to 0.3, but I like to target around 0.2 in one 60 minute addition. The more acidic you go the less bittering you need. Griffith targets 9.5 IBU versus a starting gravity of 1.045.
You can ferment with any ale yeast that has a restrained ester profile.
You might even be able to use lager yeast. Griffith uses White Labs WLP001 (California Ale), which is a solid choice. You can also use the similar Wyeast 1056 (American Ale). Other solid choices with a touch more character would be Kölsch or Alt yeast strains or perhaps European ale yeast. You will find that different yeast strains will emphasize different aspects of the beer. A fermentation temperature in the 65–68 °F (18–20 °C) range for most ale yeasts or a few degrees cooler for the Kölsch or Alt yeast strains should yield decent results.
If you decide to sour the beer by the addition of Lactobacillus, it is probably best to add it after primary fermentation is complete. One vial or smack pack should do fine. You do not want a lot of souring, so limiting the food for the bacteria will keep souring in check. If it seems like souring might be going further than desired, keeping the beer under refrigeration, below 40 °F (4 °C), should mostly halt the bacterial activity.
The high level of carbonation in this style helps add a dryness and acidity to the beer. Target a carbonation level of 3 to 4 volumes. If you are going to bottle this beer, be very careful. High carbonation and glass bottles can result in severe injury or death.
Similar to Berliner weisse, Gose can be served “mit schuss” or “with syrup.” A small dollop of raspberry (himbeer) or woodruff (waldmeister) syrup helps counter the tartness and adds another dimension to the beer. You can buy the authentic German syrups at many German food stores or read the article BYO ran on making syrups in the May-June 2014 issue and experiment with a wide variety of flavors.
by the numbers
OG: 1.036–1.052
FG: 1.006–1.012
SRM: 3–6
IBU: 5–12
ABV: 3.9–4.9
Gose
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.044 FG = 1.010
IBU = 9 SRM = 4 ABV = 4.5%
Ingredients
3.7 lbs. (1.7 kg) wheat malt (4 °L)
2.6 lbs. (1.2 kg) continental Pilsner malt (2 °L)
14.1 oz. (0.4 kg) flaked oats (2 °L)
14.1 oz. (0.4 kg) flaked wheat (2 °L)
7.1 oz. (0.2 kg) Munich malt (8 °L)
5.3 oz. (0.15 kg) acidulated malt (2 °L) (added once temperature is below 120 °F/49 °C)
1.8 AAU Magnum hop pellets (60 min.) (0.14 oz./4 g at 13% alpha acids)
1⁄3 tsp. (1.8 g) sea salt crystals (0 min.)
0.43 oz. (12 g) crushed coriander (0 min.)
White Labs WLP029 (German Ale/Kölsch) or Wyeast 2565 (Kölsch) yeast
1 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
I currently use Best Malz Pilsen, Munich, and acidulated malt. My wheat malt, flaked oats, and flaked wheat are from Great Western, but feel free to substitute any high quality malt of the same type and color from a different supplier. My hops are in pellet form and come from Hop Union, Crosby Hop Farm, or Hopsteiner depending on the variety.
Mill the grains (keeping the acidulated malt separate) and dough-in targeting a mash of around 1.25 quarts of water to 1 pound of grain and a temperature of 150 °F (66 °C). Hold the mash at 150 °F (66 °C) until enzymatic conversion is complete. Infuse the mash with near-boiling water while stirring or with a recirculating mash system raise the temperature to mash out at 168 °F (76 °C). Add in 1 quart (1 L) of ice cubes and stir in the mash thoroughly. Check the mash temperature. Keep adding ice and stirring until the mash temperature drops within a few degrees of 120 °F (49 °C). Sprinkle the crushed acidulated malt across the surface of the mash. Seal off the top of the mash vessel with plastic wrap and then slowly fill the headspace of the mash vessel with CO2 or argon gas. Insulate the outside of the mash vessel with blankets or other insulation. Check the pH of the mash every 12 hours. When it reaches the low 4 pH range, you can begin sparging. Sparge slowly with 170 °F (77 °C) water, collecting wort until the pre-boil kettle volume is around 6.5 gallons (25 L) and the gravity is 1.034.
The total wort boil time is 90 minutes, which helps reduce the S-Methyl Methionine (SMM) present in the lightly kilned Pilsner malt and results in less Dimethyl Sulfide (DMS) in the finished beer. Add the hop addition with 60 minutes remaining in the boil. Add the sea salt and coriander at the end of the boil. Chill the wort to 65 °F (18 °C) and aerate thoroughly. The proper pitch rate is about 150 billion cells. You can get by with pitching a fresh vial or smack pack, but the safe bet is to use 1 package of yeast in a 1-liter starter to be certain you have a healthy pitch of enough yeast for proper fermentation.
Ferment around 65 °F (18 °C) until the yeast drops clear. With healthy yeast, fermentation should be complete in a week, but do not rush it. If desired, perform a diacetyl rest during the last few days of active fermentation. Rack to a keg and force carbonate or rack to a bottling bucket, add priming sugar, and bottle in heavy weight bottles. Target a carbonation level of 3 to 4 volumes.
Gose
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.044 FG = 1.010
IBU = 9 SRM = 4 ABV = 4.5%
Ingredients
3.9 lbs. (1.8 kg) wheat liquid malt extract (8 °L)
1.1 lbs. (0.5 kg) continental Pilsner malt (2 °L)
14.1 oz. (0.4 kg) flaked oats (2 °L)
14.1 oz. (0.4 kg) flaked wheat (2 °L)
7.1 oz. (0.2 kg) Munich malt (8 °L)
1.8 AAU Magnum hop pellets (60 min.) (0.14 oz./4 g at 13% alpha acids)
1⁄3 tsp. (1.8 g) sea salt crystals (0 min.)
0.43 oz. (12 g) crushed coriander (0 min.)
Lactic acid to taste (post fermentation)
White Labs WLP029 (German Ale/Kölsch) or Wyeast 2565 (Kölsch) yeast
1 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
I use a wheat extract blend from my local homebrew shop. Always choose the freshest extract that fits the beer style. If you cannot get fresh liquid malt extract, use an appropriate amount of dried malt extract instead. Using fresh extract is very important to make great beer. I currently use Best Malz Pilsen and Munich malt. My wheat malt, flaked oats, and flaked wheat are from Great Western, but feel free to substitute any high quality malt of the same type and color from a different supplier. My hops are in pellet form and come from Hop Union, Crosby Hop Farm, or Hopsteiner depending on the variety.
Mill or coarsely crack the Pilsner and Munich malt and place loosely in a grain bag with the flaked oats and flaked wheat. Avoid packing the grains too tightly in the bag, using more bags if needed. Place the bag in about 1.5 gallons (~6 liters) of water at 160 °F (71 °C). The idea is that your temperature, once you add the grain, is in the malt conversion range and will convert the starch from the grains.
After 60 minutes, lift the grain bag out of the steeping liquid and rinse with warm water. Allow the bags to drip into the kettle for a few minutes while you add the malt extract. Do not squeeze the bags.
Add enough water to the malt extract to make a pre-boil volume of 5.9 gallons (22.3 L) and a gravity of 1.038. Stir thoroughly to help dissolve the extract and bring to a boil.
Once the wort is boiling, add the bittering hops. The total wort boil time is 1 hour after adding the first hops. Add the sea salt and coriander at the end of the boil. Chill the wort to 65 °F (18 °C) and aerate thoroughly. The proper pitch rate is about 150 billion cells. You can get by with pitching a fresh vial or smack pack, but the safe bet is to use 1 package of yeast in a 1-liter starter to be certain you have a healthy pitch of enough yeast for proper fermentation.
Ferment around 65 °F (18 °C) until the yeast drops clear. With healthy yeast, fermentation should be complete in a week, but do not rush it. If desired, perform a diacetyl rest during the last few days of active fermentation. Once fermentation is complete, add lactic acid in small doses until the beer has a slight tart edge to it. Rack to a keg and force carbonate or rack to a bottling bucket, add priming sugar, and bottle in heavy weight bottles. Target a carbonation level of 3 to 4 volumes.
