Adjunct
Salt
Added deliberately in gose, where it gives a savoury edge and makes the beer unusually refreshing.
Salt in gose is a seasoning in the culinary sense: below the threshold at which anybody tastes salt directly, it suppresses perceived bitterness and lifts everything else. The beer reads as rounder and more savoury rather than as salty.
It also interacts with the lactic acidity the style carries, and the two together are why gose drinks as refreshing rather than merely sour. Pushed past the threshold it becomes the only thing anybody notices, which is the usual failure of the style.
What it is for
Salt. A seasoning in the culinary sense. Below the threshold where anyone tastes it directly, it suppresses bitterness and lifts everything else.
- Adds a savoury edge
- Enhances perceived body and suppresses bitterness
Whether it ferments
| Fermentable | No — brewing yeast cannot take it, so whatever goes in stays in. It contributes flavour, and where it is a sugar, sweetness and body that survive into the glass. |
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What it contributes
The contribution of the ingredient, not the profile of a finished beer. How much of it reaches the glass depends on quantity, timing and what else is in the recipe.
Styles it defines
Styles where this is characteristic rather than optional. Plenty of other beers use it — these are the ones that would not be themselves without it.