We added a new beer to our Limited Series and what better way to introduce it than by introducing you to one of the brewers who brewed it? So without further ado, let’s meet Alex and the Salted Caramel Gose.
What first got you into brewing beer?
It all started on a trip to Europe when I was in college. It was the first time I had great Belgian and German beers. When I got back I started homebrewing my own and it’s all been downhill from there.
What is your favorite part about brewing?
I love being physically exhausted after a day of work. It feels like I’ve really accomplished something and I sleep like a baby.
How long have you been brewing for?
Professionally about 5 years. Homebrewing about 4 before that.
What brought you to Angel City?
Los Angeles. When I was looking at job postings on ProBrewer, what really drew me to Angel City was the thought of living and working in DTLA which is awesome.
If you could only drink one style of beer for the rest of your life, which would you pick and why?
As lame and cliché as it seems, IPA. I love me some hops.
What beer do you enjoy brewing the most?
Probably Number of the Yeast. We have this whole 666 thing with all of the analytical data and we play metal while it’s brewed. It’s funny and makes a great beer.
What is your favorite beer on tap at the Public House right now?
Probably the DIPA. When it’s fresh it’s amazing.
What is one thing you wish people knew about brewing beer?
That brewing is basically just janitorial work with beer at the end.
What makes for a perfectly brewed beer?
Record keeping. Brewing is all about control and if you don’t know how you controlled it last time you don’t know what the fuck you are doing.
If you were to submit an entry to this year’s What Would You Brew contest, what would your idea be and what would you name it?
A low alcohol Belgian golden strong so it would be named a Wee Golden Strong or Golden Strong Wee.
Ok, so now let’s talk about our latest limited release, Salted Caramel Gose. For people that know nothing about the style, what exactly is a Gose?
Traditionally, Gose was a spiced light wheat beer with a little more full round body due to the addition of salt. Somewhere in the middle of a Berliner and a Wit.
Does this one taste tart, salty or sweet like caramel?
It’s actually got a nice tart bite from the lacto. We soured it in the kettle and this allows us to have the caramel still be there but balances it so the beer isn’t cloying and difficult to drink. Also since it’s supposed to remind you of a salted caramel we added more salt than is typically used in a gose so you can taste the brininess.
The Gose is gaining popularity in the U.S. lately – why do you think that is?
Every brewery out there is trying to come up with new styles to try and new combination of flavors that can work well in beer and I think looking to the past to styles like Gose that have fallen out of popularity in the last 50 years make it an interesting style to experiment with. It worked well with Wit beer (which was nearly extinct before the 60s) and Berliner so why not Gose. Also lately breweries have been making more tart and funky Goses that the traditional ones and I think the trend towards sour and wild beers has led to many more breweries trying the style.
Are you a fan of sour beers? Is there such a thing as too sour?
I love sour beer but there is absolutely too sour. I used to work in a sour barrel warehouse and when you taste beers that are dry as a bone and under a pH of 3, I think everyone would agree, it’s too sour.
Any food that would go great with the Salted Caramel Gose?
I think it would work well with sweeter foods like Ridges Churro Truck that comes by every once in a while. The salt and lactic acid cut through the sugar and make it easy to drink but the aroma is almost candy-like with its caramel and vanilla aspects. So I think it would be great with a donut or churro
Ok, final question. If 100 people order a Gose at the brewery, how many pronounce it correctly? (GOH-zuh or GOH-suh)
I doubt half will get it right and a quarter will never have even heard of a Gose.
Salted Caramel Gose is now available in limited quantities in 22 oz. bottles at the Public House and in stores. Come give it a taste!
