Sip Northwest, Fall 2016

12 S I P N O R T H W E S T C O M A R O U N D T H E W O R L D BY KENDALL JONES The lively and re eshing quaff er is also one of the oldest continuously brewed beer styles on the planet According to legend Emperor Otto III sang its praises in the year A D 996 Records show that by the 15th century gose had become the most popular beer in Leipzig the largest city in Saxony with over 80 licensed Gosenschänken gose taverns within city limits Today brewers typically brew gose by adding salt to the water using a generous portion of malted wheat in addition to regular malted barley and employing a beer iendly bacteria Lactobacillus to provide the requisite sour character In most cases gose clocks in at a sessionable strength o en 5 percent ABV or lower Historically coriander was the main seasoning used and many modern brewers obey the tradition but nowadays its not unusual to fi nd gose seasoned with pretty much anything like apricot de Garde Brewing hibiscus Widmer Brothers Brewing grape uit Ecliptic Brewing or whatever else strikes the brewers fancy Gose is just one more example of how the modern cra beer industry is breathing new life into old world beers l Nobody saw this one coming A couple years ago most beer drinkers had never heard of gose pronounced goes uh but today beer lovers across America are warmly embracing this unusual style of beer noted for its tart and salty character Many Northwest breweries are producing the traditional German sour ale but most beer drinkers know very little about this unexpected hero of the beer world The style takes its name om the river Gose which fl ows through Goslar a small town in the German state of Saxony an area credited with giving birth to this style of beer about 1000 years ago Gose is brewed with slightly salty water which provides a salinized character to the beer Historians theorize that the original source of saltiness was the mineral rich aquifers that supplied water to the old brew houses in Goslar The sour character is attributed to spontaneous fermentation meaning it was fermented using wild airborne yeast The obligatory hazy yellow color comes om the use of malted wheat which also helps lend gose some of its uity fl avor GO FOR GOSE Liquid Assets Goses New Life Reubens Brews SEATTLE A gold medal winner at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival this bright yellow sparkling clear beer smells sourer than it is The fl avor is smooth and refreshing more fruity than tart with curiously combined notes of mandarin orange pineapple and grapes all without getting too sweet pFriem Family Brewers HOOD RIVER OR Bright golden and slightly hazy the fi ne white head releases a funky but pleasant yeasty aroma The fl avor is reminiscent of well ripened fruit a complex blend of sour lemons grapes and mangos With a noticeable touch of coriander and salt it manages to be dry and juicy at the same time Freigeist Geisterzug STOLBERG GERMANY Based on a 600 year old recipe this hazy golden brew wafts of traditional German beer with aromas of bread and fruit At fi rst the hints of spruce are evident drying things out and allowing your palate to focus on the funky tart fruit fl avors and the satisfying salty mineral character that remains at the fi nish T LEFT PHOTO COURTESY OF PFRIEM FAMILY BREWERS