Guess what time it is!
Go on, don't be shy - guess. In case the title of this page was somehow too subtle of a hint, we'll just go ahead and say it to you plainly: It's Beer:30. That's what time it is. Naturally, your follow-up question would be "What's Beer:30?" Despite its time-centric name, Beer:30 isn't a strictly defined minute or hour of the day. It's more like an umbrella term for when everyone at Do512 HQ decides to stop working so hard and have a beer together like a damn family.
Beer:30 also happens to be a first-rate opportunity for us to collectively indulge our inner beer critic. While we definitely consider ourselves veterans in the art of drinking beer, we wouldn't exactly call ourselves beer experts. In other words, we know that a stout tastes different than a hefeweizen, but we probably couldn't explain why in any real detail. We just like beer, which is why every month we hop into our Do512 Lounge to lounge around while we sample some hops. This Beer:30, the Do512 crew tried out Real Ale's Gose, a German-Style Wheat Beer. Here are our findings.
Real Ale Brewing Co. | Gose
STATS:
- Type: German-Style Wheat Beer
- Alcohol by Volume: 4.40%
- International Bitter Units: 5
REAL ALE BREWING CO. | GOSE
HISTORY:
The Brewery -
Real Ale Brewing Co. is about as homegrown Texan as you can get. The brewery started doing their thing a little over twenty years ago in Blanco, Texas. Since its inception, the company has been in communion with the Texas land they are built upon. Real Ale Brewing Co. uses actual water from the Blanco River in their beer, and shy away from the use of artificial flavors or preservatives. These days, they're still known for a refreshingly no-frills take on making beer. That is to say, they are staunch defenders of using as little artificial processing as possible in the brewing of their stuff. For them, Texas clean is the way to be and we can agree with the sentiment.
The Beer -
As with seemingly all things beer-related, we have the Germans to thank for Real Ale Gose. This specific beer is a German-style Wheat Beer originating from, yep, Northern Germany. First brewed sometime within the 16th century in Goslar, Germany, Gose is a beer that's as delicious as it is steeped in history. Gose's tantalizingly salty notes are a tribute to the actual salt content of the river water from which it was originally sourced in Germany. The beer gains its tart quality from something called lactobacillus bacteria, likely a result of what is called spontaneous fermentation, a technique common in beer brewing at that time. Its lime flavor is easily explained - Real Ale adds real lime to Gose.
Real Ale Brewing Co. first brewed Gose (then called Real Ale’s 18th Anniversary beer) as a collaboration with Odell Brewing Co. in 2014, and people have been pretty much demanding they make more of it ever since.
REAL ALE BREWING CO. | GOSE
WHAT IT TASTES LIKE:
Although it was created centuries ago in Germany, Real Ale Gose surprisingly tastes like it was tailor-made for heat-addled Texans during the summer. Gose has delicious hints of lime and salt present, which readily conjures memories of eating Mexican food on a hot day (preferably near a pool of some sort). At its core, Gose is an easily drinkable wheat beer that lends itself exceptionally well to a sweaty day spent in the sun.
REAL ALE BREWING CO. | GOSE
WHAT TO EAT WITH IT:
Remember when we said that the salt and lime-filled flavor of Gose might make you think of times spent eating Tex-Mex by a pool? That's exactly what you should be doing while you drink it. If you want to enjoy this beer in ideal conditions, we recommend that you call up your buddy with a pool, grab some to-go food from your chosen taco truck or Tex-Mex restaurant and get to relaxing. As we said before, Gose was created in Germany, but it sure as hell makes sense in Texas. Pair it with well-loved dishes like fish tacos, ceviche, or any style of fajitas and you're going to be a happy camper. Oh, and we'd be remiss if we didn't mention how good it is as the basis of a Michelada. Find a recipe for that here.
REAL ALE BREWING CO. | GOSE
WHERE TO GET IT:
Real Ale Gose is available now through July in supermarkets and beer stores, making it a fine choice for any number of summer days here in Austin. If you feel like venturing a bit further than your local store, Real Ale Brewing Co. is just an hour away and available for tap room tours. Find more info on that right here.
REAL ALE BREWING CO. | GOSE
What's your favorite beer to enjoy during Beer:30? We're open to suggestions. [email protected]
