Sam Adams Verloren GOSE...$6.39 / 22oz
A link to the ales of Saxony that have all but vanished, Verloren (translating to “lost”) is a peculiar yet captivating brew. This gose style (pronounced “goes-uh”), with its base of an unfiltered wheat ale, is light and refreshing yet also has a softness to it. Verloren’s flavor is brought to life by an unexpected touch of salt for a mineral quality, and coriander for a peppery spice. The result is an unusual and delicate brew that’s full of flavors to discover.
Our rendition of an old German style, Verloren is brewed with 50 to 60 percent malted wheat creating a fine haze, cloudy straw color, and crisp twang. The singularity of this brew however, comes from its soft creaminess, dry finish, and spices. The addition of salt creates a slight sharpness against the soft cereal character and enhances the other flavors around it, while ground coriander creates a peppery bite to enliven the brew.
Gose is an old and peculiar German style that falls outside of the Bavarian tradition. Originating in Goslar (near the Harz Mountains), Saxony, Gose was popularized in 1738 when Duke Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau (The old Dessauer) brought it to nearby Leipzig where it quickly became the city’s official beer style.
Leipzig lies outside of Bavaria where the German Beer Purity Law of Reinheitsgebot originated. The law dictated that beer only contain the three primary ingredients, water, malt, and hops (yeast was not yet known). But Leipzig’s Gose was an exception as a regional specialty and continued to be brewed with its signature coriander and salt. Its distinctive softness and slight sourness is also the result of lactic acid that gives the beer an unexpected. Like many beer styles, Gose eventually began to disappear as light pilsners grew in popularity in the 20th Century, pushing several styles into near extinction
Sam Adams Norse Legend SAHTI...$6.39 / 22oz
Legend has it that barrels of sahti were found on sunken Viking ships off the coast of Norway. This ancient Nordic ale took root in Finland becoming one of the oldest continuously brewed styles. Deep amber in color, this rugged brew’s distinctive aroma and flavor comes from aging on a bed of juniper berries. The herbal, woodsy, and ripe citrus character of the juniper enlivens a sturdy and smooth malt backbone for a fresh and flavorful brew.
For us, the legend of this sahti goes way beyond its Nordic roots. It’s been a labor of love, or at one time some may have said hopeless pursuit, among a few of our brewers. For almost 8 years we’ve been tinkering with it, from experimenting with its traditional, if rudimentary, technique of brewing with full juniper branches to trying variations of berries, malts, and rye. We kept searching for just the right combination of ingredients and process to capture this brew’s distinctive character of woodsy earthiness, citrus, and spice.
After all of those trials, we’re excited to finally get to share this unique brew outside of our brewery.
History of Sahti
The history of sahti can be traced back to the days of the Vikings (around the 11th century) where barrels of this primitive brew were found on sunken ships off the coast of Norway. The style took hold in Finland where it’s been continuously brewed for over 500 years.
To keep the style going for all of those years, sahti’s brewing tradition was passed down in households and taverns as a family recipe. It was traditionally homebrew by women across Scandinavia using local ingredients of juniper as well as oats, rye, or even bread in place of barley. In keeping with the tradition of the women’s sahti, our recipe was developed by one of our brewers, Jennifer Glanville
The ancient brewing process of sahti is also unique. The mash was filtered through a wooden trough called a kuurna and filtered through a bed of full juniper branches. The fresh, resiny flavor of juniper was infused into the brew. For some sahti’s the juniper worked in place of hops to balance the brew and act as a preservative.
One of the key characteristics of Sahti is its juniper flavor. Traditionally this was achieved through filtering through full juniper branches. Although this works well through the hand-carved kuurna, (wooden trough), it proved to be quite a challenge in our brewery. With some more experimentation we developed a recipe where we age the beer on a bed of juniper berries that impart an herbal, woodsy, and fresh evergreen character.
The distinctive juniper is combined with the dry spiciness of rye and a base of roasted sweetness from specialty malts. Hallertau Mittelfrueh hops bring a fresh citrus flavor that perfectly complements the brew’s rugged character
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