Gose was nearly extinct as a commercial style before Westbrook’s 2013 release helped bring it back into American craft beer, and it remains one of the most widely cited Goses in the country’s sour beer boom. It is brewed with coriander and grey sea salt rather than fruit, staying closer to the traditional Leipzig style than the fruited Goses that followed it onto shelves.
Check Availability on Saucey →Westbrook Gose Review at a Glance
| Brewery | Westbrook Brewing Co., Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, USA |
| Style | Gose (sour wheat beer) |
| ABV | 4% |
| IBU | 5 |
| Calories | Around 150 per 12oz |
| Base ingredients | Pale and acidulated wheat malt, coriander, grey sea salt, CTZ hops |
| Gluten free | No, brewed with wheat and barley malt |
How It Tastes
It pours a hazy pale straw gold with a light, quickly fading head, typical of the style’s low hop bill. The nose carries a mild coriander spice note over a light wheat tang. On the palate it opens with a clean, gentle sourness, a distinct savory salt note comes through mid-palate rather than at the finish, and coriander lingers through a dry, crisp close. It reads more savory and less sweet than most of the fruited Goses that came after it.
This is the Gose to taste if you want to understand the style before the fruit-and-lactose versions took over the category.
- Historically significant as one of the beers that revived Gose in the US
- True to the traditional coriander-and-salt profile rather than a fruited variant
- Low ABV and light body make it an easy warm-weather session beer
- Widely available in cans across the eastern and southern US
- Very low IBU and light body mean less complexity than a barrel-aged sour
- The salt note is more pronounced than some drinkers expect going in
- Not brewed for cellaring, best enjoyed fresh
Who It’s For
A solid pick for anyone curious about traditional Gose before trying a fruited version, and a good warm-weather session beer for drinkers who like a savory edge over a sweet one.
FAQs
Did Westbrook Gose start the American Gose trend?
It is widely credited as one of the beers that revived the nearly extinct Gose style in American craft beer after its 2013 release, ahead of the wave of fruited Goses that followed.
What does Westbrook Gose taste like?
A clean, tart wheat beer with coriander spice and a distinct salt note mid-palate, closer to a savory profile than the sweeter fruited Goses that came later.
How strong is Westbrook Gose?
4% ABV and 5 IBU, a light, low-bitterness session beer by design.
Where can I buy Westbrook Gose?
It is distributed in cans across much of the eastern and southern US, and available through retailers including Saucey.
