Sam Adams | Verloren Gose

Sam Adams Verloren Gose ale, an all but dead style of beer that the Boston Beer Co. is taking a shot at putting the defibrillator on. Originating from Leipzig, Germany, Gose beer is traditionally brewed with at least 50% wheat malt, and an addition of coriander and salt. Although these additions to the beer don't comply with the German purity law of 1516, it has been accepted due to being a "regional specialty."

With all that being said, I was very intrigued by this beer, so I bought one…. two months ago. And, expecting the worst, have been scared to try it. Well, today is the day to finally give it a try.

Poured into a weizen glass, Verloren has a somewhat hazy, golden amber color. The fluffy white head piles up nicely, but recedes kind of quickly.

The nose is spot on the style of a Hefeweizen, with a strong spice kick from the coriander. Lightly tart yeast comes through the spice, which adds a little bit of complexity to this unusual beer.

The flavor is much like the nose, very German style wheat beer, but the yeast is a little funkier than normal. Flavors of lemon peel, coriander, clove, and banana come to mind. The salt addition is just barely noticeable near the finish, but it is there. It almost seems to make the beer a little oily towards the end. But at least it keeps the beer from finishing too dry!

Overall this beer is much better than I feared it to be, but it's still a bit odd. It could be a placebo effect where I'm searching for the saltiness because I know it's in there, instead of just tasting the salt blindly. However, I would recommend trying Verloren, maybe not because it's the best beer on the shelf, but because it's cheap, and I've never seen a Gose style beer before. There's a good chance this is the only Gose beer you'll see in your life, so why not give it a shot?

Personal: 6.5/10
Style: N/A