This post is about that birthday beer I referenced in my last entry. I’ve been meaning to brew a gose (pronounced goes-uh) — a traditional tart German wheat beer with sea salt and coriander — with peppercorns (my own twist on the style) for about two years. August 2nd, my birthday, afforded me the opportunity to finally do so as my kegerator’s sour tap became available.
I wrote a basic gose recipe and made a one liter lactobacillus starter five days before brewday, keeping the starter at 114F the entire time with a sous-vide cooker submerged in a camping cooler. Gregory and I have had great lactic acid production in the past while making starters or sour-worting at around this temperature, but I talked to a fellow homebrewer who thought the temp. sounded a little high (he recommended keep the lacto. between 85-100F). I proceeded to pitch the lacto. into the post-boil wort and waited 34.5 hours to pitch my ale yeast. I didn’t bother to take a PH reading, as our PH meter seems to be malfunctioning.
The beer turned out fine, albeit less sour than I would have liked (ideally, it would have attained the level of tartness of Cascade’s or Westbrook’s goses). The homebrewer I mentioned above thought that my temp. may have been high enough to kill the lacto., so I’ll try keeping the starter at a lower temp. next time — perhaps then I’ll reach the level of tartness I desire.
All in all it’s a fine beer, and the peppercorns proved a nice addition. Below you can find my recipe, process, and tasting notes.
Salt-N-Peppa Gose
Recipe Specifics
Batch Size (Gal): 5.0
Total Grain (Lbs): 8.50
Anticipated OG: 1.043
Anticipated SRM: 3.0
Anticipated IBU: 5
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75%
Wort Boil Time: 75 Minutes
Grain
47.06% — 4.00 Lbs. Wheat Malt
35.29% — 3.00 Lbs. Pilsner
11.76% — 1.00 Lbs. Acid Malt
05.88% — 0.50 Lbs. Rice Hulls
Hops
0.20 oz. Sterling (Pellet, 6.8% AA) @ 75 min.
Extras
1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient @ 10 min.
1.00 Whirlfloc @ 15 min.
0.65 oz. Coriander Seed @ 10 min.
6.00 g. Pink Peppercorn @ 5 min.
0.75 oz. Sea Salt @ 10 min.
Yeast
White Labs WLP029 — German Ale/Kolsch Yeast
White Labs WLP672 — Lactobacillus Brevis
Water Profile
Seattle
Mash Schedule
Sacch. Rest – 60 min @ 150F
Acid Malt Addition — 45 min @ 150F
Mash out — 20 min @ 170F
Notes
07.28.16 — Made a 1 liter lacto. starter and kept @ 114F for 5 days
08.02.16 — Made 1 liter starter of German Ale/Kolsch yeast
Brewed on 08.02.16
08.02.16 — Chilled wort to 103F & pitched lacto. starter without aerating, put onto brewbelt
07.27.16 — Chilled to 80F and pitched yeast slurry
08.03.16/08.04.16 — After 34.5 hrs, decanted and pitched German Ale/Kolsch yeast, aerated & took off of brewbelt
08.04.16 — Vigorous fermentation 9.5 hours after pitch
08.12.16 — Kegged entire batch and began carbonating
Tasting Notes — 09.07.16 (poured off tap)
Pale straw color with a moderate white head which dissipates quickly and laces thin. Light bready malt aromas with mineral undertones and apparent fruity-floral peppercorn notes as the beer warms. Sweet stone ground cracker-like notes on the palate accompanied by the floral-nutty flavors of the coriander. Sea salt salinity emerges mid-palate to balance the malts with a mineral crispness and a savory zing. Finishes semisweet with notes of cereal grains and a balancing flourish of peppercorn spice.
Calculated OG: 1.045
Calculated FG: 1.010
Approx. ABV: 4.6%