Bringing a classic into the Wiz line up.

While sour beer has been a style I’ve always been fond of. It was a style we hadn’t brewed yet. Why was that? One reason may have been because, why brew something that I could just go buy. But I think the real reason was more so from fear. So many people had put it in my head that it was a style that was tough or that needed extra equipment, but mostly it was the mention of contamination of my whole brew setup. It was terrifying to think that all my equipment would be tainted from a single brew day.

Well, after some thought and research it had tempted me too long. I had to do it. It’s a favorite and it’s something I’ve wanted to serve on tap.

I started by purchasing the Brewer’s Association book GOSE, Brewing A Classic German Beer For the Modern Age. And I have to say– damn. That book has a lot of detail. While it was written to cover the full history and specifics for big breweries, it also had obtainable content for a homebrewer. Now I had to reread some sections, a few times, but was able to gain the confidence needed to brew my first gose.

The Brew Day

Before we could brew this new style I needed to get a new piece of equipment– a pH meter. It wasn’t too expensive, it did set me back about $50. But a good investment that will get used on every brew moving forward. Since gose is a sour beer, we need to make sure reach the right acidity.

The grain bill was super simple. The process varied depending on how we wanted to sour the beer– sour mash, kettle sour or sour during fermentation. Since we didn’t want to get anymore additional equipment and had an extra keg, it made sense to try out the last option. And I’m glad we went that route because the brew day was simple and same as usual. The only variation was the additional step for souring.

Enjoying the Final Product

Success! Not an award-winning beer but it did pass all acceptable criteria needed to be a enjoyable gose. The alcohol, flavor, color and carbonation were on target. We fell short with the sourness, being on the low end. Do we plan on brewing it again? Yes! Definitely planning on bring this recipe back out in the summer.