Back in the day, trays of draft at the Tap Room, and a salt shaker on the table. The old fellers at the back sprinkling some salt into their draft. Why you would sprinkle salt into good beer (or draft at the Tap Room) is beyond me. So now I have a Gose in front of me. You may be wondering what the hell a Gose is. I was wondering if you were wondering that because it is exactly what I was wondering. They tell us that a Gose is a German-style unfiltered sour wheat beer with sea salt already added. No shaker required. Now I am wondering what they would think of a Gose at the old Tap Room back in the day. To say there may have been some skeptics is a Gose understatement.
Wheats have had a mixed reception on COMDB to say the least. Sours have seen the good, the bad and the ugly. A sour sea salt wheat beer sounds like a recipe for disaster. It didn’t sound like it had a Gose of a chance, but we will see how it Gose down.
Gateway calls this brew Stepping Stones* and I know it has something to do with a local landmark but I am immediately brought back to Paul Revere and the Raiders being quite emphatic that they are not your stepping stone.** The Monkees also covered the song too. So much for 60’s rock talk.
This brew pours golden wheat fields clear and bubbly with a slim trim head that dissipated as I anticipated. A fresh almost savoury aroma to it, with a smidgen of sour tang, bread too for a malt and salt combo. The taste is almost a sour but mellow, not tangy, and a touch salty, a different and fresh taste. No hops bitters or malt. Fruit? Glad you asked. Maybe, yes there is some fruit in there somewhere but not citrus or tropical, hard to discern, more like a touch of apple in the sauce? Now no apples. How do you like those apples? What apples? What emerges is a slightly salty, slightly sour, mildly malty, no fruit, no hops, no zing wheat beer, doing quite the balancing act.
You always remember your first. Glad it’s a Gateway Gose. It was different, balanced, mild, refreshing and tasty.
Shout out to Humbert who encouraged us to sample a Gose or two. One down, at least one more to go!
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