By Charlotte Knowlson

We want to tell you all about one of our favourite styles of sour beer. One reason that we love it so much is that, as well as being delicious, it has a name which lends itself most favourably to terrible puns. But we're going to take this seriously and try our very best to write this blog post without a single pun or bad dad joke. Here Gose...

The Gose (pronounced like 'poser' with a G) is a German classic. This wheat-based ale is soured using lactobacillus bacteria, giving a mouthwatering lemony tang, and is traditionally flavoured with salt and coriander. This gives it a delicious and incredibly refreshing saline quality, as well as gentle herbal and spiced notes. The delicate balance of sourness, subtle coriander spice and savoury salt make this a great beer to pair with seafood or chicken. Modern versions are often fruited with a variety of fruit, ranging from sour lemon to tropical passionfruit. 

There is sometimes confusion between the Gose and another similar-sounding  (and similarly unpronounceable) sour beer: the Gueuze (sounds like 'Gooz'). These are in fact, not the same beer at all. The Gueuze is a type of Belgian Lambic beer, which you can read more about here. But the German Gose originated in the town of Goslar, from which it takes it name. The Reinheitsgebot (a strict German purity law) stated that beer could only contain 4 ingredients: water, hops, yeast and barley. However, the Gose was classed as a local speciality beer, and was therefore exempt from these restrictions - hence the wheat, coriander, salted water and souring bacteria. It enjoyed a few centuries of popularity, but, sadly, became all but extinct by the 1960s. After a few decades of obscurity, a couple of German brewers decided to revive the Gose and return it to its former glory.

If you fancy trying a Gose for the first time, or even if you're already an avid fan of this ale, pop in to store to get a couple of recommendations. If you're new to the style, Magic Rock's Salty Kiss is a fantastic and easy-drinking gooseberry Gose which is a great gateway into the style . In fact, it was my gateway into craft beer, and as such will always occupy a special place in my heart. We'd also recommend Sleeping Lemons by The Wild Beer Co. as an excellent gose for pairing with food. The recipe is inspired by Moroccan preserved lemons, so goes beautifully with a tagine, as well as chicken or fish. For the more adventurous, perhaps give Yonder's carrot and coriander Gose 'Bugs' a go, or Red Jungle Fowl by Double-Barrelled, a Gose brewed with earthy beetroot and sweet, tangy raspberry.