Samuel Adams Verloren

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts 
Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch No. 1) from a Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2013
Style/ABV: Gose, 6.0%

Reported IBUs: 15

I love those random impulse buys, because this was totally that. Really though, all the Small Batch Series offerings from Sam Adams are reasonably priced at around 5-8 dollars per 22oz bottle, so here is me being brave and trying their interpretation of a Gose. About Sam Adams:

Samuel Adams was founded in 1984 by Jim Koch, and currently the Boston Beer Company is the largest American-owned beer company in the United States. Sam Adams is also the largest craft brewer in America, with over a million barrels of beer being produced annually. You can check out the Sam Adam's website for more info.

Gose, pronounced like "rose + uh," is a German style of beer. And so, we are off to the German Beer Institute. Gose is an ancient, sour, and salty ale, made from more than half malted wheat and the rest malted barley. The beer is fermented with yeast and lactic bacteria, and is spiced with coriander and hops. This beer is traditionally brewed with slightly salted water. The nose is supposed to be mild with some spicy coriander, and the taste should feature a sour spiciness with banana, green apple, dried apricot, zest, and coriander. The saltiness should be slightly present in the dry finish. The beer is traditionally served in a cylindrical-style glass, but it may also be served like a Berliner Weisse with a shot of raspberry or woodruff-flavored syrup. 

This 1000-year old beer traces back to the river Gose and the town it flows through, Goslar, in the state of Lower Saxony, 100 miles from Leipzig. Goslar was a bustling town in the 11th century, thanks to its copper, lead, zinc, salt, and silver mining. It was also known for its brew center. When the Goslar mines gave out in the Middle Ages, Goslar declined and Gose-brewing migrated to Leipzig. The beer was brewed in Leipzig no later than 1738, and by 1900, Gose was the most popular beer in Leipzig with more than 80 licensed Gose houses on record. For these reasons, modern Gose is now associated with the Saxon capital, Leipzig. 

Gose is unlike any other beer style, in that it is brewed with slightly salty water. The style rose to popularity in Leipzig, up until World War 2, when the breweries sustained damage from the war and style faded away. Things were further complicated by post-World War II Germany, and the Berlin Wall. The modern Gose renaissance has been attributed to the Gosebrauerei Bayerischer Bahnhof (Gose Brewery Bavarian Station), which opened in 2000 in Leipzig. For further reading, definitely check out the German Beer Institute...plus, their website is awesome, so why wouldn't you check it out? 

Now...this is a pretty nuanced style...so let's see what Sam Adams has in store. If you check out their Verloren page, you can find out what their thought process was for this beer. Sam Adams describes the beer as having a base of unfiltered wheat malt, with a touch of salt, and coriander for a peppery spice. This beer utilizes Saaz hops, two-row pale malt and unmalted wheat malts, top-fermenting ale yeast, and kosher salt and coriander. Clocking in at 6.0% and packing 15 IBUs, this is not a huge beer but SHOULD pack some really nice flavors. Let's glass this up.

Samuel Adams Verloren

With a malt base that's 50-60% unfiltered wheat, the head formation and slightly hazy body is not unexpected. This one kicked up about 3-finger's worth of orange/amber-tinted head. In low light, the body is a darker orange/bronze color. When held to a bright light, this beer is a pretty nice orange color with some yellow tones, and the head is just a tad off-white pulling color from the body. There's a lot of carbonation rising upwards in this in the form of small to medium-sized bubbles, and the head is sustaining nicely with some lacing. Props to Sam Adams for leaving this one unfiltered...it looks to be a touch hazy with some sediment. 

The aroma is surprisingly light and perfumey/fruity, with some citrus, grass, lemon zest and peppery coriander, a bit of wheat and biscuit, and maybe a dash of mineral/salt. It reminds me of the Sam Adams Summer Ale with a dash of mineral/salt quality. 

This is pretty light and refreshing, with a big blast of coriander and zesty citrus kick in the back of the front and mid palate. There's a mineral edge and hint of salt throughout, but especially towards the back. It really does remind me of the Summer Ale with a bit of that mineral kick. There's also a pretty nice biscuit and floral thing here...it's kind of herbal, and reminds me of flowers or rose pedals. 

I love the Sam Adams Summer Ale, so this is in my wheelhouse. This is light to medium-light in terms of mouthfeel, with lively carbonation and smooth wheat body driving this beer across your mouth. You get some really bright citrus mid-palate lighting up your tongue, and it reminds me of summer and makes me smile and shit. I mean...let's call a spade a spade, this is a great wheat beer. Missing here is the lactic bacteria and perhaps some wheat complexity...so it's probably fair to say this beer is a loose interpretation and perhaps a bit safe. Safe is accesible. Nevertheless, palate depth is really nice and complexity is okay. You get some wheat and a touch of mineral up front; mid palate is wheat, really bright citrus, zest, coriander, spice, and some biscuit/grain; back end is fading citrus, and dry to mineral/salt. 

Rating: Above-Average (4/5 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this beer. Pretty nice stuff. It reminds me of the Summer, and I could see myself grabbing a bottle or two of this (especially at the price) for a barbecue or to pair with some pizza or salad. At 6.0%, this is drinkable and easy-going, but it also has the potential to take you to happy places...so you get nice citrus and coriander for your Ego, and your Id can feed its alcoholism. This isn't the most exciting beer...but it is what it is, which is pretty good. This compares well to wheat beers and Sam Adams' Summer Ale...I'd like to see how this would taste with the addition of some lactic kick. Overall though, I'll probably pick this up again at some point.

Random Thought: Don Cherry is an idiot.