Texas Brew Review: Spicy Gose beers goose up a hot summer

“Light and easy” only goes so far during our state’s annual hell impression. Pilsners, pale ales, blonde ales, Kolsches and light lagers are great for 105-degree temperatures, but when you bookend this many triple-digit days in a row, you want to mix it up a little.

Enter the gose. Pronounced GOEZ-UH — so skip all the “that’s the way beer gose” puns — this German-style wheat beer has been increasingly popular in recent years.

It’s a flexibly interpreted style, but typically, its features include sour, salt and spice. Depending on a brewery’s take on gose, the beer can go in wildly different directions, as evidenced by these four that are readily available in stores now. (Note that not all of these are from Texas.)

Real Ale Gose

Originally introduced as Real Ale’s 18th Anniversary Beer, Gose was so popular last year that the Blanco brewery decided it needed to make a comeback as a summer seasonal. It’s easy to see why. This slightly sour beer features additions of lime, a hint of salt and a bit of coriander (cilantro) and still remains light on the tongue. With its depth of flavor and easy-drinking qualities, Real Ale Gose has become beloved by craft beer lover and neophyte alike. Still, some snobs have referred to it as a craft version of Bud Light Lime-A-Rita. Those haters can go swim in a dry creek bed; this beer is a great and welcome addition to every summer in perpetuity.

Verdict: Easiest drinking, most refreshing of the bunch.

Martin House Salty Lady

The addition of salt is one of the most eyebrow-raising qualities of gose. With Real Ale’s version, salt is a more reserved ingredient and the tart, spice and citrus are more significant players. Fort Worth’s Martin House, however, doesn’t play around with the briny features. It should be obvious from the name, but The Salty Lady embraces it in a way that actually accentuates the funk in this beer. It’s tart for sure, but strays over to the sour side on the finish. Don’t let that scare you away — this is still quite refreshing, it’s just more of an electrolyte quench than a beer quench.

Verdict: A little sharp, but brings rewarding blast of the things your body needs when it’s 150 degrees outside.

Odell Brombeere Blackberry Gose

Not satisfied with sticking to the basics of the style — not that anyone really does with gose anyway — Fort Collins, Colo.’s Odell Brewing opted to infuse blackberries into the salt-and-sour flavor melange. The result is an interesting twist that helps kill some of the puckering elements present in other goses while still maintaining a pleasant sweet-tart character. Some fruit additions to beer can be overbearing, but Brombeere is balanced and has just the right amount of blackberry.

Verdict: Straightforward, soft on the tongue and easy to love.

Destihl Brewery Wild Sour

All goses exhibit some sour or tart characteristics, but what if someone amped those up to 11? Bloomington, Ill.’s Destihl Brewery answers that call with an entry in its canned Wild Sour series called Here Gose Nothin’ (told you the puns were coming). Salt and coriander are present for sure, but are immediately pounded away by the characteristics brought about from wild, spontaneous fermentation. It’s acidic, challenging and wholly different from anything else available. Still, it’s a very well-made beer and has the odd distinction of being one of the few true sours that is packaged in cans.

Verdict: Seriously sour, it’s easily the most challenging on the list.

Quick sips

Audacity can launch: Audacity Brew House is launching its beers in cans Saturday. They’re soon to be available elsewhere, but this “Can Party” will be your first opportunity to try Audacity’s beers in aluminum instead of solely on draft. The event runs 11 a.m.-10 p.m. at 1012 Shady Oaks Drive in Denton and will feature live music. audacitybrewhouse.com.

This story was originally published August 12, 2015 at 11:21 PM with the headline "Texas Brew Review: Spicy Gose beers goose up a hot summer."