I’ve wanted to have a gose taste-off for some time. For those who aren’t aware, the gose (go-suh) style of beer has roots in Germany and most often considered a sour wheat ale. For those wanting to brush up quickly on the style, here is the wiki page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gose, but for the purposes of blind evaluation and ranking, I don’t wish to say more regarding the style.
Tonight, there are four main contenders and a bonus contestant. Each are to be evaluated on its merits and ranked, with a reveal to occur after. Also there will be a review of the bonus contestant. I am writing and evaluating this in real-time in fairness to each beer. To be completely objective, I have an extra rater present to assist and critique. I am evaluator A, and am writing my description and rating first. Following writing my review and rating, I will be told evaluator B’s impressions.
A. The appearance is hazy, golden and lemony in color. The smell is like citrusy sea air, that’s truly the best way to describe it. The body is lightly carbonated, and slightly mouth puckering. It also tastes lemony with hints of saltiness and wisps of wheaty grain. 5/10
B. The appearance is pretty and golden. The smell is citrusy and lemony with hints of salt The taste has a hint of orange and light salt with a very thin body. This is easy to drink but doesn’t seem like a true gose. 4.5/10
Gose #2 – 
A. This gose is cloudy and colored like pale wheat. It smells mostly of salt and damp straw. It has very little carbonation, and the taste is slightly fruity, juicy, and wheat laden with a floral back-end. Very little sourness is present in this gose. Overall this is reminiscent of wheat and salt flavored water, and pretty lifeless. 2.5/10
B. This is hazy and pale-yellow in color. This smells faintly of salt and little else. It has an extremely floral flavor and very little salt. 3/10
Gose #3 – 
A. This one is a bit more translucent than the others and has a rose/ruby hue. It smells herbal and floral with hints of rosewater. The taste is nothing like any gose I’ve tasted before. No saltiness and no sourness are present, and it’s lightly carbonated. This tastes like slightly carbonated rose-water. 2.5/10
B. First comment “What the hell man?” followed by “Ugh.” This gose is a rose gold color. It smells like old, bad fruit. Imagine if a slice of watermelon were left sitting out on a picnic table in the sun way too long, this gose smells that way. It also has no salty smell or taste. It tastes like someone put fruit in a randall and ran miller lite through it. 2/10
Gose #4 – 
A. The body is golden and clean, while being slightly opaque. This smells sour and salty with a slightly lemony undertone and immediately prompts salivation. Sipping on this bring the cheeks in with tartness and finishes salty. It has a slight melon taste that couples with a balanced body. Each sip lures the drinker towards another, making setting the glass down very difficult. 9/10
B. This has a nice opaque golden hue. It has a vibrant, salty nose. The flavor is fantastic and reminds one of salt and vinegar chips, in the best way possible. Delicious. 7/10
Bonus Round!
This one is, due to the size of the container and the presence of only two judges, pretty much impossible to work into the “blind” concept. So with the knowledge ahead of time that this is a Pizza Boy Gose, here are the reviews.
Pizza Boy – Haters Tears – 
A. This is a bright blonde color that is almost see-through. This smells mostly like grain and wheat with slight hints of hoppiness and saltiness. This has a balanced degree of carbonation and a slight saltiness with a tinge of hop bitterness and an herbal aftertaste. I this was mouth-crushingly sour I would give this a higher rating, but as it is I still enjoy it. 4.5/10
B. This golden in color and the appearance is almost completely translucent. No strong nose on this one but for a slight salt and sour tinge. The carbonation seems more flat that the others, but the taste boasts a nice balance between sweet and salty. 6.5/10
And now for the great reveal, the moment of truth, the unmasking, and all of those other phrases that signify an unveiling……..
In order left to right, one through four, I present for you, tonight’s contestants…….
If you’ve had any of these, are you surprised? I was a little shocked at the result but not drastically. I think that the main factor driving our ratings was the degree of sourness, with goses two and three severely lacking in that regard. The above are simply the humble ratings of two gose enthusiasts, please feel free to decide on your own.
Cheers,
J