BRAUWELT international | Beers of the world

So the Story Goes – The

Story of Gose, Part IV
Thirst is the best spice | The final two installments in this that the chaff would remain whole dur-
ing the milling process to promote lauter-
series serve as a guide to the methods employed for producing ing. Therefore, one would assume that the
gose over the many centuries of its existence. Though some of the wheat was only lightly threshed and win-
nowed.
details of its production have been lost to the mists of time or have

l
gone to the grave with its secretive brewers, written records have Primeval Incarnations of Gose –
preserved at least some of the ingredients and techniques used to Wort Production
brew gose at various points in its history. Two ingredients collec- According to Goslar’s records dating to be-
tween the 17th and 19th centuries, gose
tively unique to gose seem to have remained constant throughout production in the city of its origin proceeded
the beer’s long existence: coriander and table salt. roughly as follows: Luftmalz grist (19 sacks)
returned from the mill was thoroughly
mixed with a kettle full of brewing liquor
The gose produced in Goslar was When signs of germination appeared, the heated to boiling to create a thick mash in
brewed – at least over a significant stretch of grains were turned or sometimes simply left a wooden mash vessel. It should be noted,
its history – with 100 percent Luftmalz, or to form a thick mat and then torn apart by however, that a later account of the brewing
air-dried malt, made solely from wheat (see hand. process in Goslar describes brewing liquor
part I of this series). In Goslar, the production Because it was not kilned, thermal stress heated to a boil being added to cold liquor al-
of this malt was carried out by “widows and and thus the products of the Maillard reac- ready in the mash tun – and only when they
old maids”. A volume of two wispel of wheat tions and caramelization were not present were mixed would the grist be added. This
was steeped at one time. A wispel varied over in the malt to any perceptible extent. Con- makes more sense, since otherwise the ex-
time and from place to place between 1.12 sequently, this kind of malt would have tremely hot liquor would largely inactivate
and 1.45 m3. The steeping liquor usually been very pale. Luftmalz made from wheat β-amylase and the peptidases in the malt,
became covered in air bubbles, because a in the production of gose would have prob- and α-amylase activity would be fleeting.
“putrid fermentation” began after the grain ably been utilized as far back as the 1200s, With no “maltose rest”, the wort would con-
was in the vessel for a while. The wheat was though the actual sources recording these tain more than the ordinary complement of
steeped until a milky substance gushed methods date to later centuries. Luftmalz, oligosaccharides (i.e. above 20 %) and thus
from the kernel when it was squeezed be- sometimes referred
tween the thumb and forefinger. However, to as “wind malt”,
the maltsters had to ensure that the wheat would not have been
was cast out of the steeping vessel before the deculmed, because
embryos in the kernels died. On the floor of the rootlets are not
the malthouse, the wheat was spread evenly as brittle as those on
or sometimes in small “mole-like hills”. kilned malt. The malt
would have been rich
in enzymes, but due
to its higher moisture
content could not
have been stored for
very long. Air-dried
malt was later em-
ployed to produce the
beers of old Louvain
(modern Leuven)
Authors: Nancy and Christopher McGreger,
in Belgium. Prior to
McGreger Translations and Consulting, Frei-
sing, Germany milling, the wheat Fig. 1 A märzen-gose cask on its way to being tapped
was moistened so  Source: Ritterguts Gose Booklet

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would be comparatively deficient in the sug- filled with worm-

ars that yeast would be able to consume and wood (Frehmte in the
would likewise be much more appealing to local dialect) and cin-
bacteria. namon sticks. This
The mash was stirred constantly, while wort was then boiled
more malt grist (9 sacks) was added to the separately and the
mash, followed by a second kettle full of resulting beer was
brewing liquor heated to boiling. Once known as “Frehm-
mashing was complete, the false bottom tenbestekrug”. It was
of the lauter tun was lined with rye straw considered the high-
selected for its length. While the mash was est quality gose in Go-
being transferred to the lauter tun, the slar and was set aside
third kettle full of brewing liquor was being for valued custom- Fig. 2 The slow migration of gose production from Goslar to Leipzig
and Halle
heated to boiling. In the emptied mash tun, ers. The second run-
more malt grist (3-4 sacks) was mixed with nings were then collected from the lauter lated to the High German “laufen”, mean-
a kettle full of brewing liquor. The kettle was tun and boiled for an hour. From the grain ing “to run”. Thus, this vessel most likely
filled halfway with this mixture, and hops (2 left behind in the lauter tun, more wort was resembled a coolship made of wood. Each
sacks) were added (hops may not have been collected but was only heated to boiling. batch flowed into separate tuns in the cellar.
boiled to produce the wort of the earliest Malt grist (3 sacks) was then added to the Spruce twigs lined the “Hopfenkorb” (hop
beers of Goslar). This “Hopfkrug” boiled for mash tun and, together with the remaining sieve) in the cellar. Gose was sold at different
three hours, which imparted the beer with grain, was mixed with two kettles of boiling prices according to its quality, the best being
the necessary “bitterness and freshness”. water. While the respective batches of wort reserved for sale in public houses.
The “Bestekrug” (first runnings) was pulled were boiling, large sticky floating clumps The hot side of the brewing process (in-
off of the lauter tun, then boiled and stirred were scooped out. All of the wort collected cluding the sacking of the malt grist and
for two hours. The remainder in the mash in the brewhouse ran via a conduit into the the cleaning of the vessels), as described
tun was added to the mash in the lauter tun. fermentation cellar. The wort was cooled in above, lasted about three days and three
A portion of the Bestekrug was collected and “Kellerlöpen”, described as vats or troughs. nights. The brewers in Goslar believed that
run into special vessels containing a sack “Löpen” is probably a Low German word re- their beer could not be reproduced, in part

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formed over the fermenting wort, and the heimisches Weißbier to name two, were con-
thicker, the better, since it protected the beer sidered to be types of gose and were brewed
from the air. In Goslar, the beer was only with more wheat malt than barley malt
consumed when it was fresh, i.e. almost im- (both air-dried or very gently heated). The
mediately after fermentation was complete. latter required 800 Pfund (pounds) of wheat
Following a vigorous fermentation, once malt and 400 Pfund of barley malt with an
microbial activity was no longer apparent addition of six to seven Pfund of hops and
and the yeast had settled out, the beer was crushed laurel and/or juniper berries. This
served. The appearance of the beer was de- yielded 25 “Eimer” (buckets) of good beer.
scribed as “pea soup” by one author, due to This general type of beer, i.e. lightly
the large amount of protein in the beer. The hopped beer brewed with a fair amount of
spruce twigs used in the hop sieve imparted wheat (malt) in the grist, was understood
the faint aroma and flavor of pine needles to to have been brewed in Quedlinburg, Hal-
the gose from Goslar. berstadt, Aschersleben, Blankenburg, Han-
Nonetheless, as the saying goes, “Bak- nover, Hildesheim, Gastingen and Werni-
ing and brewing aren’t always successful.” gerode, among others. “Braunbier” (brown
If the fermentation did not commence or beer, especially valued in summer and
lacked the proper intensity, the beer was re- during the harvest for its thirst-quenching
ported to be turbid, thick and undrinkable. properties) and “Gerstenbier” (barley beer)
The brewers of Goslar knew that during were also produced in the region. Goslar did
hard winters and hot summer days as well not export Braunbier or Gerstenbier, and
as during thunderstorms, the quality of the production of the latter was limited to the
fermentation might not be ideal. Gose was first of the year so that neither would under-
not bottled but filled into casks and served mine export sales of gose.
in public houses. This was also subsequently
reported to be the case in Leipzig when gose lOne for the Road
maturation was carried out in uncorked Thus, from its first forays out of Goslar
bottles. In the 16th century, a commission many centuries ago as an export product,
of beer tasters was appointed to ensure that gose seems to have been a beer which de-
the beer produced in Goslar, especially for ex- veloped its character in large part through
port, was of a suitable quality. But by the late conveyance on wagons in wooden barrels.
18th century, it was written that the gose Was pitch applied to the inside walls of the
from Goslar reflected poorly on its namesake barrels? Whatever was customary for beer
and no longer deserved its good reputation. barrels at the time in the region where they
Fig. 3 Deliveries of Goedecke’s Ritterguts
Gose in Leipzig in the late 19th and early 20th
were manufactured would have in all prob-

l
centuries  Source: Ritterguts Gose Booklet Gose Pulls Up Its Roots ability been the case for gose barrels as well.
Pitch-lined barrels would have largely elimi-
and Takes on Barley
because of the large volumes they brewed nated inoculation of the wort with microbes
at one time. 3.5 wispel of wheat malt were At some point, as production of the beer that might have been lurking in the wood,
used to brew the beer. Goslar’s brewers were migrated eastward (Fig. 2), barley malt be- such as Saccharomyces and Brettanomyces,
also reputed to have been fastidiously clean came a primary ingredient of gose. Hopped and would have also hermetically sealed the
with regard to their brewing equipment and beers brewed with at least some barley malt barrels. Gose – either in the form of wort or
practices, and they were widely known for became increasingly common in the 14th beer – would have come into contact with
using only the best ingredients. The equip- and 15th centuries, simply because they wooden vessels other than barrels, anyway.
ment was cleaned with hot water in which were less susceptible to bacterial infection This would not have had much of an influ-
green spruce branches had been boiled. As due to the hops and also because barley still ence either way on the beer consumed in
early as the 13th century, for special occa- on the stalk was not as vulnerable to fungal Goslar, since Brettanomyces strains require a
sions, such as celebrating Shrove Tuesday, infection, at least with the deadly mold ergot significant amount of time before they make
a “Fastnachtsbier” was brewed containing which was most prevalent in rye. Other at- their presence known in beer. Compared to
three additional sacks of malt. Fig. 1 depicts tributes of barley (husks, protein content, the fresh gose drunk by the inhabitants of
a bit of the ceremony in later centuries in- enzymes, among others) also made it more Goslar, the gose leaving the city’s gates as an
volved in tapping a “märzen-gose”. attractive to brewers. export commodity would have been quite
The first gose in Quedlinburg was pro- different upon arrival at its destination, re-
lFermentation duced in 1540, and by the mid-18th century, gardless of whether the barrels were pitched
Barm (a mixed culture harvested from the 22 1/2 barrels of gose (at the time, referred to or not. The advent of photography and the
foam of a previous fermentation and saved as Braunahrung or “brewed nourishment”) two other constants in gose’s history, car-
for later use) was maintained for both bread were brewed with 1 wispel, 1 scheffel of riages and casks, fortunately coincided in
and beer production and would most likely wheat malt and 1 wispel, 15 scheffel of bar- time before they disappeared (Fig. 3).
have been employed to ferment gose. A ley malt. Gose had many cousins in northern One must keep in mind that in modern
thick leather-like skin was reported to have Europe. Breyhan or Broyhan and Bingel- breweries, anaerobic Gram-positive bac-

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teria, e.g. Lactobacillus and Pediococcus, lAcknowledgments Goslar, 1925.

with an evolved tolerance to hops are most 3. Hofmann, F.: “Ein Geheimnis im Bier-
problematic. In the past, when contact with The authors would like to thank the Stadt- reiche“, in: Die Gartenlaube, Heft 6,
oxygen was more common in beer produc- archiv Goslar, Odin Paul, Jens Gröger, Michael Verlag von Ernst Keil, Leipzig, 1872.
tion, aerobic Gram-negative acetic acid bac- Bergt, Tilo Jänichen and Matthias Richter for 4. Lokales aus der Provinz und aus den
teria, e.g. Acetobacter, Gluconobacter, would their generosity and kindness. Nachbarstaaten: Goslarsche Gose, in:
also have contributed to the character of Goslarsche Zeitung, February 17th
the beer. If the beer were kept for any length lLiterature and Further Reading 1882.
of time with exposure to oxygen, it would 1. Briggs, D.E.: “Malts and Malting”, 5. Mueßdörffer, F.; Zarnkow, M.: “Das
turn into vinegar, which is exactly what Blackie Academic and Professional; Bier – Eine Geschichte von Hopfen und
happened later to the gose in Leipzig, once it London, 1998. Malz“, C.H. Beck Verlag, 2016.
had passed the “Limonade mit Geist” stage 2. Brinkmann, H.: “Das Brauwesen der 6. Voigt, G.C.: “Geschichte des Stifts
of maturation. This could be the reason kaiserlich freien Reichsstadt Goslar“, Quedlinburg“; volumes 1-3, Leipzig,
that gose production migrated along trade Kommissionsverlag von J. Brumby, 1786.
routes; given that beyond a certain radius,
the acetous fermentation would have domi-
nated in the nose and on the palate.
As the Hanseatic League became es-
tablished and broadened to cover much of
northern Europe in the 14th century, the
popular beer traveled along these well-worn
networks with other goods being traded far
and wide. Whether the thousands of Hu-
guenots fleeing persecution from northern
France in the 16th and 17th centuries –
who settled in Saxony-Anhalt, among other
regions of Germany – had any influence on
the methods of gose production there, as
they are purported to have had on Berliner
weisse, is difficult to say. Gose itself, in any
case, was originally a product of the Harz
mountains, until it slowly found its way east
to Saxony; however, beers scattered over a
long stretch of time and across the so-called
North European Plain all seem to share a
number of attributes. The plain stretches
from the west in what is now Belgium east-
wards across to modern-day Poland, in the
north from the southern tip of Sweden to
the northern Czech Republic. Much of this
vast area is still covered in farmland, and
most of it was never a part of the Roman
Empire; thus, over several millennia its in-
habitants would have been more inclined to
drink beer than wine. These beers share the
attribute of being spiced, lightly hopped and
having a fair amount of malted or unmalted
wheat in the grist. Some were brewed to be
“single” beers while others were “double”
or stronger. Unfortunately, as these beers
emerged from the Dark Ages, they became
casualties of war, famine, political upheaval
and changes in laws, most of them having
long since fallen victim to these and other
trials and tribulations.
In the next installment in this series, we
will discuss the unique aspects of the pro-
duction techniques developed in Leipzig and
Halle in addition to those employed to brew
gose in the 21st century.  n

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