This 1000 year old beer style is named for the naturally saline water of the Gose river which flows through the town center of Goslar, Germany. The style became very popular in the nearby city of Leipzig and is similar to Berliner Weiss, but the addition of coriander and salt means it did not strictly conform to the “Reinheitsgebot” German Beer Purity Law of using only hops, barley, and water (yeast was not known to be an ingredient of beer before Louis Pasteur in the 1800s). After the unification of Germany, Gose was granted exception to the Reinheitsgebot rule as a regional specialty outside of Bavaria. As far as we know, this style had not been commercially produced in San Diego before Tuesday, when brewer Derek Freese (Monkey Paw) and collaborator Adam Parker (KnB Wine Cellars) began their experiment in flavor. Over the next few days Freese will perform a sour mashing technique using Lactobacillus delbrueckii in the kettle, having enlisted the advice of Ballast Point/Home Brew Mart’s Colby Chandler (Sour Wench Blackberry Ale brewer) and Karl Strauss’ Paul Segura (Flan Diddly Anders Red Ale brewer). Because Freese and Parker didn’t have the same German water to work with, they’ll be adding the necessary salt to the uncarbonated beer next week, after taste testing several salts from the KnB kitchen mixed with beer pulled off the fermentors.