Leipziger Gose actually originated in the smallish town of Goslar (state of Lower Saxony , Germany). Leipziger Gose was already first mentioned around 1000 AD under Emperor Otto III. Like many other beer styles (e.g., English Imperial Stouts, German Bock biers) the Goslar breweries of Leipziger Gose had to look elsewhere for a bigger market. They found those in the trade towns of Halle and of Leipzig -- about 100 miles east -- where Leipziger Gose appeared around 1738 for the first time. By 1900, Leipzig boasted over 80 Gose houses.
The spread of the bottom-fermenting pilsner style, as well as economic decline of East Germany under communist regime, contributed to the demise of the Leipziger Gose which was last brewed in the mid 1960s.
On July 20, 2000 Thomas Schneider (no relations to the Schneider Wheatbeer brewery in Kelheim, Germany) revived the brewing of the Original Leipziger Gose in the famous “Bayerische Bahnhof” in Leipzig.
Leipziger Gose is a top-fermenting wheat beer {60% wheat, 40% barley malt} with coriander and salt added in the boil. Lactic acid bacteria is added later. It is a 4.5% ABV eclectic beer whose name evokes a close relationship to the renowned Lambic/Geuze breweries in the Valley Senne nearby Brussels, Belgium.
Leipziger Gose is unfiltered, unpasteurized , and bottle-conditioned. It is of a yellowish color; a hint of apple-skin aroma in the nose; its flavor & taste profile is quite complex with notes of plums, herbs, and coriander on the palate. The refreshing sharpness of the salt is quite subtle. The finish is dry with the lactic acid bacteria providing some nice refreshing undertones.
Leipziger Gose
Alc./Vol.: 4.5
Orginal Gravity: 1046
EBC: 11
IBU: 13
