Gose Brewday II

Since I already had everything in place, I figured it was only appropriate to make a second batch, what with the delicious yeast cake just waiting for more scrumptious sugars to devour. The first batch was at 1.012 when I moved it the secondary; it tasted soft and bready, and the salt and coriander helped round the flavors. While it is not quite as sour as I was hoping for, it does have something of a nice salty tang to it already, so here’s hoping the sourness will continue to grow, although I’m not sure if Lactobacillus continues to sour after the initial fermentation (Jeffrey, any thoughts or advice?). I’m guessing that a larger starter of Lactobacillus, or letting it get going by itself before adding the other yeast is going to be the real solution; for now I’ll hold out illusory hope that the current yeast cake is magically all Lactobacillus so this beer is where I want it to be. And if that doesn’t work, there’s always next time. I also see what Kristen England meant when he said most people don’t put in enough salt: I followed his recipe calling for 12.4 grams of salt per gallon in Brewing With Wheat, and the salt character is far, far less noticeable than I anticipated. I might even try a third batch, and run up the salt level to see what happens. Because I’m crazy like that.

83. Gose the Gozerian II
Mash:
4 lbs. Wheat (3 lbs. Breiss Torrified Red Wheat & 1 lb. Weyerman Dark Wheat)
2 ¼ lbs. Weyerman Light Munich
2 ¼ lbs. Weyerman Bohemian Pilsner
½ lb. Weyerman Acidulated Malt

Mashed w/ 3 gallons of RO water @ 150° F for 90 minutes
Batch sparged with 2 gallons RO water @ 168° F for 15 minutes

Added to brew kettle, brought to a boil (90 minute) and added:

w/90 to go: ½ oz. Hallertauer Leaf 4.1% AA

w/10 to go: .70 oz. coriander

w/2 to go: peel and juice of 1 tangerine

@ removal from heat: 62 grams Kosher salt

Chilled, racked to carboy, and pitched on Safale US-05 and Wyeast 5335 Lactobacillus cake from the last batch

Brewed: 2/24/2011 @ 66° F
Secondary: 3/3/2011 @ 1.011; began fermenting in under an hour; 1 ½” of krausen in 5 hours and up to 68° F—peaked at 70° F
Bottled: 3/15/2011 w/ 4.0 oz. of table sugar @ 63° F

OG: 1.034
FG: 1.010

Tasting Notes: 5/11/2011: Gose the Gozerian II is a slightly hazy straw with a soft persistent white head. The nose is cereal and lactose—or, as Elli describes it, cereal and milk—the warm milk and cereal remains that need more cereal to finish breakfast. Flavors start with a saline doughiness that is mainly wheat flavored; the middle is bright, sharp, and slightly sour, while the finish is dry, tart, and slightly acidic—although the cereal flavor never really disappears across the profile. The Fruity Pebbles flavor that initially characterized this beer is mostly gone at this point, but it is still a flickering, lingering presence—sort of a ghost of Christmas past type thing at this point, if that makes any sense. The mouthfeel has also continued to lighten and brighten—while tart and dry, there is still some substance and feel on the palate. As well, the carbonation is bright and crisp, enhancing the overall crispness of the beer. There is also a much lower salt presence in this one; even though the difference in salt between the three is pretty minimal (82 has 65 grams, 83 has 62 grams, and 84 has 70 grams). Elli gives the nod to 84 as her favorite, while this one is the one I like the best.