BRAUWELT INTERNATIONAL | BEERS OF THE WORLD

So the Story Goes – the

Story of Gose, Part I
LAND OF THE “DICHTER UND TRINKER” | The world has rarely with ample time and suitable conditions to
work their synergistic magic. Fascination
seen artists, poets and thinkers (and in some cases drinkers) of the with processes and outcomes such as these
caliber of Goethe, Schiller, Bach and Luther, all of whom at one drove the curiosity of Dr. Faustus, a condi-
tion from which all of us suffer who never
time lived and worked in and around the German state of Saxony. cease to be captivated by this venerable bev-
It must have something to do with the local water – or perhaps the erage. Among the beers of the world, gose
is very unusual and not surprisingly is the
beer. The enigmatic beer style known as gose (pronounced “goes- product of a long and storied history.
uh”) is associated with Leipzig, though it did not originate there,
lFollowing the Gose to Find Gose
and has experienced a relatively sudden spate of popularity in the A small river meanders through the Harz
craft beer world, but imitations pale in comparison to the beguiling Mountains, famous for the “Hexennacht”
(Witches’ Night), on its way to join a larger
brew found in Saxony. Oddly, gose is more famous abroad than at waterway, the Abzucht. This river, the Gose,
home. joins the Abzucht in a picturesque town
named after the tributary, called Goslar.
Ancient rites associated with “Walpurgis-
THOUGH GOETHE himself apparently among other things, an alchemist, and our nacht” were at one time a night of sacrifice
drank gose, it is not available in the opu- interests do not lie far afield, because even to the Germanic god known variously as
lent Auerbachs Keller, the tavern in Leipzig to the most studious of brewers, the produc- Wōden, Wotan or Odin. Each year at the end
made famous in Faust as the place where tion of beer from a few simple ingredients of April the region’s inhabitants gathered on
Mephistopheles casts a spell over the stu- retains an air of mystery about it. The malt a nearby mountain to welcome spring and
dents. Gose is luminous and lively, efferves- enzymes, the hoppy, roiling wort and the to ensure that the ensuing season of fertility
cent and invigorating, well worth a trip to heaving and foaming brought about by the and growth would result in a plentiful har-
the Saxon metropolis. And yet, the beer style brewers’ yeast – sometimes accompanied by vest. Of course, Goethe’s Faust and Mephis-
is not originally from Leipzig but a town in other microbes – through innumerable bio- topheles put in a subsequent appearance at
the bewitchingly beautiful Harz Mountains, chemical reactions, weave their remarkable the festival as well. However, the authors
where it can once again be found. The au- and complicated tapestry of flavor, mouth- are in modern-day Goslar at Yuletide, where
thors traveled to these and other points of feel and aroma as long as we provide them the bustling Christmas market is scattered
interest – this time without the direct inter-
vention of Mephistopheles but with a curi-
osity worthy of Dr. Faustus – to unveil the
secrets of this famous beer. Dr. Faustus was,

Authors: Nancy and Christopher McGreger,

McGreger Translations and Consulting, Frei-
sing, Germany Fig. 1 Kaiserstadt Goslar and Rammelsberg in 1574 – at the time, gose would have been a ma-
jor export commodity

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Fig. 2 Brauhaus Goslar as seen from the Marktkirche St. Cosmas and
Damian

around the cathedral and many Though its days as an impe-

of the stands butt up against the rial seat ended by the mid-13th
buildings on the town square. century, the town found itself
These buildings are sturdy and part of the Hanseatic League of
attractive as most of them are at Baltic and North Sea merchants
least 300 years old. Brauhaus not long after, though it is some
Goslar occupies one of them. distance from the coast. The
Stepping in from the cold and Hanseatic League continued in
cobbled market, the luster of the footsteps left by the Viking
the copper brewhouse behind traders who paved the way for
the bar and the aromas from much of the commerce in the
the kitchen serve to amplify the region. This created a market
welcoming warmth of the inn, for the town’s products, which
where the authors were met by were traded to far-flung desti-
the very hospitable and inform- nations. Though the mined ore
ative Odin Paul, the proprietor was portrayed as the city’s “life-
and head brewer at Brauhaus blood” and has even been found
Goslar in the town after which in Anglo-Saxon grave goods
the brewery is named. including a sword excavated in
Goslar was first cited as a Britain, the beer of Goslar was
town in 979. The earliest men- described as the “best and only
tion of beer in Goslar dates sustenance of the city” and the
back to 1181, which recorded breweries as the “heart of the
the hiring of a brewer (braxa- city”. In the 13th century, “Cer-
tor). Under a nearby mountain, visia Goslariensis” began to be
known as the Rammelsberg, appreciated outside of the city
which is very close by, silver, walls. The beer of Goslar was
copper and lead deposits were later shipped in barrels along
mined. Goslar profited greatly trade routes spanning from the
from trade in ore. Known as the North Sea to Vienna and for this
Kaiserstadt (imperial city), Go- reason came to some recogni-
slar has a rich history, which is tion, along with other towns of
evident in the timber-framed ar- the region still famous for their
chitecture of its handsome his- beer such as “Einbeck”. Gose is
toric center, a UNESCO World named after the river Gose, per-
Heritage site. Slightly over 1000 haps because the water to brew
years ago, Goslar became estab- the beer was taken from there.
lished as a seat of the Holy Ro-
man Empire. Its prominent po-
sition in the empire continued
for another 150 years, and the
l“Wer kein Bier hat,
hat nichts zu trinken.”
imperial palace at the foot of the For good reason, Martin Lu-
Rammelsberg still attests to its ther asserted bluntly: “Whoso-
importance during that period. ever has no beer, has nothing

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chloride seems to provide gose with a well-

l Brewing With
Air-Dried Malt rounded and ever so slightly salty flavor.
As was true of the beer in the Middle Ages,
Unlike some of their contem- modern gose at the Brauhaus Goslar also
poraries in Northern Europe, contains ground coriander seeds. They lend
who brewed with raw or toasted fresh beer a lemony flavor, but this can di-
wheat, gose brewers used malt- minish over time to leave a more herbal note
ed wheat. The type of malt was as the beer ages. Through the addition of co-
known as “Luftmalz” because it riander and salt, gose did not conform to the
was dried using the ambient air laws governing the production and sale of
rather than a kiln. Apparently, malt-based alcoholic beverages in Germany
a lot of skill on the part of the and hence was not considered “beer” – that
maltsters was required to make is, until 1993 when the law as such was re-
“Luftmalz”, and production was pealed through implementation of the EU
limited to the warmer months regulations devised to replace it.
of the year because the addition Noble hops from the Hallertau impart a
of water to stimulate germina- subtle, fine bitterness to the beer at Brau-
tion caused the malt to freeze in haus Goslar. Fermentation is carried out
winter and “the quality of the with a top-fermenting Kölsch yeast and
beer brewed with it suffered”. after three days the green beer contains ap-
During germination, maltsters proximately 3.0-3.5 percent extract. At this
constantly shifted and shoveled point, it is transferred to a closed matura-
the wheat to ensure that it would tion tank, where after two to three weeks at
not produce sour beer through a temperature of 4 °C, a final attenuation of
Fig. 3 The entrance of Brauhaus Goslar the accumulation of excess heat circa 1.8 percent is reached. This provides
(and thus bacterial growth). In enough CO2 to create a refreshingly lively
to drink.” Since most water was not potable summer, “sweet maggots” tended to be the beer. The pH of the finished beer is approxi-
in medieval Europe, cloudy beer with lit- only problem. mately 4.3 to 4.4. Both pale and dark gose
tle carbonation and about half the alcohol Of course, modern techniques are em- are brewed at Brauhaus Goslar and neither
content of modern beer was the drink of ployed to produce the malt for brewing the of them is sour. This may be surprising to
the masses. Beer provided not only hydra- beer in Goslar today. The water of the re- those who know gose to be a pleasantly sour
tion but also much-needed nourishment gion is relatively soft (3.8 °dH), and thus to beer. The grist of the pale gose contains pils-
to the population of the High Middle Ages. achieve the salty flavor of the beer, sodium ner malt, 10-15 percent wheat malt and
There was no “Reinheitsgebot” (German chloride (table salt) is added to the cast- some Munich malt, while caramalt and
beer purity law) at the time (Bavaria was out wort. Salt is plentiful in the region and roasted malt are added to the grist of the
still cultivating a great deal of wine), but was perceived by the medieval brewers of dark gose. They each possess a thick rich
beer was nevertheless brewed to promote Goslar as a means for accelerating fermen- head and are slightly cloudy in appearance,
good health. Similar to “Gruitbier”, it seems tation and enhancing the flavor of their and both are very drinkable. The refreshing
that many herbs – some of them exotic and beer. Consequently, this became one of its Kölsch-like character derived from the yeast
available only through the town’s links to distinguishing characteristics. The sodium complements the slightly salty and citrus
the Hanseatic League – were employed in
brewing the beers of Goslar. Some of these
herbs included cinnamon, anise, ginger and
caraway. However, none of them were em-
ployed for very long in the beer of the city –
except for coriander. The popularity of this
herb was apparently due to its propensity to
soothe the stomachs of those subjected to
Northern European medieval diets.
Through most of its history, the gose
in Goslar was brewed with wheat and
was lightly hopped. “As a completely pure
wheat beer”, gose was considered healthier
than other beers made from barley or oats.
When the beer was fresh, it was warming
and sweet, inducing in the drinker a thirst
for more. As the beer aged, it would become
acidic like wine, perhaps due to infection by
acetic acid bacteria. This was deemed unde- Fig. 4 Painted on the wall above the tables at Brauhaus Goslar is the adage (in translation):
sirable. “What among flowers is the rose / among beers is the gose.”

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perience and the roasted aromas In Saxony, once production was underway
and flavors are especially pleasing there, gose drinkers would probably not
on a frosty day. To commemorate have recognized the beer if they had drunk
the former mines and a now de- it in Goslar, because it would not have been
funct brewery of the same name, sour and most likely brewed using differ-
Brauhaus Goslar also produces ent ingredients and methods. Gose began
Rammelsberger Pils along with to be brewed in and around Leipzig, at least
cuisine inspired by and sourced in part, because production of the popular
from the Harz Mountains. beer in Goslar was abruptly halted after a
great fire claimed many of the city’s houses
in 1780. Though the buildings were rebuilt,
l Fire Extinguishes
Beer Production the breweries of Goslar never recovered.
The second part of this article will focus
At the height of Goslar’s beer pro- on the gose brewed in and around Leipzig.
duction in the mid-16th century,
387 houses had been granted the lAknowledgements
right to brew. Though the beer The authors would like to thank Odin Paul
was only supposed to be trans- and the Stadtarchiv Goslar for their gener-
ported one day’s journey away osity and kindness.
from the city (about 50 km), it
was often shipped much further. lLiterature
The steady stream of gose depart- 1. Zellmer, J.: “Das Brauwesen in Gos-
Fig 5. The brewhouse at Brauhaus Goslar ing Goslar’s city gates became lar“, Goslarer Archiv-Nachrichten,
infected on its passage through 11/2016.
qualities unique to this particular style of Central Europe by wild yeast and bacte- 2. Brinkmann, H.: “Das Brauwesen der
beer. The roastiness of the darker version ria – some probably residing in the barrels kaiserlich freien Reichsstadt Goslar“;
in combination with the other aromas and – which imparted the beer with the flavor Kommissionsverlag von J. Brumby, Go-
flavors makes for a distinctive sensorial ex- most drinkers began to associate with it. slar, 1925.

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