Gose

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A tart, lightly salty wheat beer originally brewed in the German town of Goslar and often flavored with coriander
2. A pale, sour top-fermented wheat ale from northern Germany that is brewed with salt and sometimes coriander
3. An unusual German beer style made from wheat, characterized by a sour tang, a hint of salinity and a refreshing finish

Etymology: The sour wheat beer known as gose takes its name from a small river, the Gose, which flows through the German town of Goslar in Lower Saxony. Brewers in Goslar drew their water from it, and the beer came to be named after the stream that supplied its brewing liquor. The name thus points to a place rather than to any quality of the drink. The river itself is what gave the beer its identity, so the word is a simple geographic label, passed from a local water source to the brew made with it.