Margarita Gose

[Morrey]

Along with my buddy fellow HBT member Key West Brewing, we exchanged ideas about the best way to create a Margarita Gose without overdoing things, but to create a taste profile that gets your attention.

I started the 5G batch with a basic 50/50 wheat to 2 row base and kettle soured with L Plantarum down to 3.24 ph. I kept the Saaz hop bill low (8 IBU) during the boil following souring. I was generous with a full ounce of pink sea salt and an ounce of coriander knowing I wanted a salty flavor profile with this beer.

The 1.040 beer finished nicely at 1.008 with US-05. First time I made a sour with dry yeast and it worked as well as any liquid like WLP001 or WLP029 I had used prior. I'll stick with US-05 from now on.

During fermentation, I zested 4 small limes taking the green skin with a vegetable peeler leaving the white pith behind. I soaked these lime peels in 3/4 cup of good anjeo tequila to make a tincture. The limes marinated in this tincture for two weeks while beer was in primary.

When racked to keg, I strained the zest and pitched the tincture while siphoning beer to keg. My initial taste was very "limey" but I was lacking tequila depth for my tastes. I next took a cup of the same tequila in a mason jar and added two medium toasted oak cubes. My goal here was to emulate a beer that was aged in a tequila barrel. The tequila picked up a really nice oaky aroma while aging one additional week.

In the meantime while this oak tincture was infusing, I was carbing the keg and sampling. The lime calmed down perfectly and needed no additional adjustments. I then pitched the oak infused tequila tincture and let it rest several more days.

I hate to sound self-serving, but this has got to be one of the best beers I have ever made! The salt balances the lime and the oak is very subtle but adds in with the hint of tequila making this a perfect margarita style. Glad this is a relatively low ABV beer since I can't seem to stay away from it!

Just wanted to share........

 

[hellesyeah]

Wow! Sounds like one I'd like to try.

What did you sour with? You mentioned L Plantarum but not quite sure what that is exactly.

 

[Morrey]

Good question. L Plantarum is a lacto strain that is very easy to work with at typical household temps instead of the strains needing incubation over 100F. It is aggressive and very effective as a kettle souring agent.

I have been using Omega Lab's Lacto OYL-605 blend which contains L Plantarum. The upside is that it has never let me down, downside it is kinda spendy when my LHBS charges $11 a pop.

SO, I bought some L Plantarum caps from Swanson Vitamins but had not tried souring with them yet. You need to make a non-aerated lacto starter, and folks suggest 3-5 caps in a liter of wort starter for a 5G batch.

I had one pouch of OYL-605 left, but the date had expired a month ago. To be on the safe side, I added 3 caps of L Plantarum from Swanson for insurance. It worked well, so my next batch is going to be the caps only. I can't say enough good things about Omega. The only factor for me is cost control.

 

[bruhaha]

Do you have a recipe to share?

 

[Morrey]

Do you have a recipe to share?

Sure. Shoot me a pm with your email address and I'll forward it over.

 

[crane]

I've been thinking about doing a citruisy gose for a while now. I think I will do something similar. Thanks for sharing.

One question though. How does the coriander meld with the other flavors. I wouldn't think it would fit in the mix well.

 

[Morrey]

I've been thinking about doing a citruisy gose for a while now. I think I will do something similar. Thanks for sharing.

One question though. How does the coriander meld with the other flavors. I wouldn't think it would fit in the mix well.

I was pleasantly surprised how well the coriander played with the other flavors. I find coriander offers subtle citrusy background notes with a hint of earthiness. I buy whole coriander seeds and toast them lightly in a dry pan until I can smell their fragrance. Don't want them to get darker in color, just a fragrant light toast. Cool then very lightly crush to crack the seed but not powder them. I use a mortar and pestle, but you can use a ziplok baggie and crack gently with a mallet or roll with a rolling pin

 

[TravelingLight]

I would love to have this recipe as well. After having Westbrook's marg gose and being blown away (couldn't imagine it being better than their key lime pie gose, but it is!), I have been on a quest to create something similar.

 

[Morrey]

I would love to have this recipe as well. After having Westbrook's marg gose and being blown away (couldn't imagine it being better than their key lime pie gose, but it is!), I have been on a quest to create something similar.

Good to hear from you my friend! I visited the taproom at Westbrook and tried a "Barrel Aged Margarita Sour"!! WOW!!! Pricey at $16 a bottle. They aged the beer in a tequila barrel. I get busy.....

5G batch base with 50/50 wheat and base 2 row malts. Kettle sour and make a traditional Gose-you know the deal. While the beer is fermenting I make the tinctures.

Tincture one: Zest from 2 limes. Green zest only, used a vegetable peeler, white pith left behind. Soak in 3/4 cup good tequila.

Tincture two: Soak two medium toast oak cubes in 3/4 cup good tequila.

These tinctures marinate two weeks. Strain tinctures and pitch liquids into keg when racking from primary. Chill and apply gas. Leave at least a week to left flavors meld. Man....this is some seriously good stuff!

TL....what I am describing to you is my modified version that I adjusted mid-stream. This is in my notes as the way I'll do it from here on out. Let me know what you think.

 

[TravelingLight]

Good to hear from you my friend! I visited the taproom at Westbrook and tried a "Barrel Aged Margarita Sour"!! WOW!!! Pricey at $16 a bottle. They aged the beer in a tequila barrel. I get busy.....

5G batch base with 50/50 wheat and base 2 row malts. Kettle sour and make a traditional Gose-you know the deal. While the beer is fermenting I make the tinctures.

Tincture one: Zest from 2 limes. Green zest only, used a vegetable peeler, white pith left behind. Soak in 3/4 cup good tequila.

Tincture two: Soak two medium toast oak cubes in 3/4 cup good tequila.

These tinctures marinate two weeks. Strain tinctures and pitch liquids into keg when racking from primary. Chill and apply gas. Leave at least a week to left flavors meld. Man....this is some seriously good stuff!

TL....what I am describing to you is my modified version that I adjusted mid-stream. This is in my notes as the way I'll do it from here on out. Let me know what you think.

Excellent, thank you! Just so I'm clear, you just use the liquid from the tinctures and don't use the zest or cubes after they "marinate" in the tequila, correct?

 

[Morrey]

Excellent, thank you! Just so I'm clear, you just use the liquid from the tinctures and don't use the zest or cubes after they "marinate" in the tequila, correct?

Correct. The solids get tossed in the trash and just use the liquids.

You may want to reuse the oak cubes, so what I did was take them out and put in another Mason jar with a fresh cup of tequila (with a lid) to use for my next batch.

 

[TravelingLight]

Correct. The solids get tossed in the trash and just use the liquids.

You may want to reuse the oak cubes, so what I did was take them out and put in another Mason jar with a fresh cup of tequila (with a lid) to use for my next batch.

You the man. Thanks!

 

[Morrey]

I encourage you to try this infusion...it is so awesome! The only challenge I have with a kettle soured Gose this time of year is keeping the kettle warm in the 80'sF this time of year in my outside mancave with no heat. I may try a fermwrap with an Inkbird and see if it will keep it up to lacto souring temps as our ambient temps drop in SC. L Plantarum lacto is best since you can sour the wort at 80F unlike other lacto strains needing to be 100F or so.

 

[TravelingLight]

I encourage you to try this infusion...it is so awesome! The only challenge I have with a kettle soured Gose this time of year is keeping the kettle warm in the 80'sF this time of year in my outside mancave with no heat. I may try a fermwrap with an Inkbird and see if it will keep it up to lacto souring temps as our ambient temps drop in SC. L Plantarum lacto is best since you can sour the wort at 80F unlike other lacto strains needing to be 100F or so.

That's been my biggest hangup why I haven't done it. Although, at least down in my neck of the woods it's still 70+ degrees outside during the day. I guess I can try sleeping bags, blankets, etc.

 

[PaulR]

Hey, this sounds like an awesome recipe. I think I'm going to have to give it a try sometime soon. Quick question though, are you adding the salt and coriander seed to the boil or in the fermenter? Thanks!

 

[Morrey]

Hey, this sounds like an awesome recipe. I think I'm going to have to give it a try sometime soon. Quick question though, are you adding the salt and coriander seed to the boil or in the fermenter? Thanks!

Paul, add the salt (non iodized sea salt) and the coriander (Lt toasted whole seed and Lt cracked) into your boil kettle with 5 min to go til end of boil. I use a hop spider with a mesh hop bag add the coriander in that for easy removal. The salt I add directly to boiling wort.

If you want my full recipe I've tweaked, shoot me a PM with your email address.

 

[bruhaha]

Morrey, I just tapped this Margarita Gose from your recipe and it is beyond outstanding! Better than I expected by far!! You were not kidding when you used the word "WOW"!

Anyway, my local home brew buddies are putting together an area throw down (non-sanctioned) and I am asking your permission to enter this beer in the competition. When we credit the recipe and creator, I'll surely tag your name on the original card. I'll take a picture or two if you'll PM me with your cell # so I can send.

Will this be ok? Thank you again.

 

[Morrey]

Morrey, I just tapped this Margarita Gose from your recipe and it is beyond outstanding! Better than I expected by far!! You were not kidding when you used the word "WOW"!

Anyway, my local home brew buddies are putting together an area throw down (non-sanctioned) and I am asking your permission to enter this beer in the competition. When we credit the recipe and creator, I'll surely tag your name on the original card. I'll take a picture or two if you'll PM me with your cell # so I can send.

Will this be ok? Thank you again.

Sure, I'd be pleased if you won with this recipe. How do you format your throw down?

 

[Izzie1701]

Did you make a starter for the us-05 or
Just direct pitch rehydrated yeast. Not sure if I should make a starter as it's starting with such a low Ph.

 

[Morrey]

Did you make a starter for the us-05 or
Just direct pitch rehydrated yeast. Not sure if I should make a starter as it's starting with such a low Ph.

Good question. I have made a number of starters for kettle sours and always hold my breath until I see blow off tube activity. BUT, my yeast has never failed me yet.

At first I made stepped up liquid starters as I was afraid of the 4.5 starting ph. Then I started making regular 48 hour starters with no step. Yeast worked fine. I made numerous sours with WLP001 and WLP029 liquid yeasts. I tried US-05 since it was cheaper than liquids and it was probably the best fermentation and best overall finished product yet. I bloomed the yeast in a cup of warm water like I do with all of my dry sachets. I can't remember the last time I pitched dry straight up so I always start the dry in a bit of warm water until it foams some. I think this is called rehydrating but not a starter per se. Out of dozens of sours, I have yet to have a yeast failure due to the ph of the wort.

I always look for neutral yeasts since I don't want to introduce any additional yeast produced esters or phenols into the beer to compete with the lacto sour.

 

[TravelingLight]

Morrey, thanks again for all your excellent advice on this. I'm curious why you do a full 60 minute boil? I figured only 15 minutes or so would be sufficient to murder the lacto. Thoughts?

ETA: I assume you're only pitching one packet of 05 yeast? Figured you wouldn't need more for a smaller beer like this.

 

[Izzie1701]

Morrey, thanks again for all your excellent advice on this. I'm curious why you do a full 60 minute boil? I figured only 15 minutes or so would be sufficient to murder the lacto. Thoughts?

ETA: I assume you're only pitching one packet of 05 yeast? Figured you wouldn't need more for a smaller beer like this.

I would guess to hit an OG and after sparging with the required water will need the full 60 mins to hit his planned OG after sparge dilution.

 

[Izzie1701]

Did you do any mash water adjustments in terms of mash chemistry

 

[Morrey]

Did you do any mash water adjustments in terms of mash chemistry

I do, good point. I had my water tested by Ward Lab and input the results in Bru'n Water. I followed the light beer profile additions (CaCl, Gypsum, Epsom and lactic) for a light SRM beer based on my source water and this grain bill. Yes, these adjustments are important for a good mash conversion to make a good "base" to build on.

 

[Morrey]

Morrey, thanks again for all your excellent advice on this. I'm curious why you do a full 60 minute boil? I figured only 15 minutes or so would be sufficient to murder the lacto. Thoughts?

ETA: I assume you're only pitching one packet of 05 yeast? Figured you wouldn't need more for a smaller beer like this.

Some folks simply heat the wort up to 180F after souring and go from there. Lacto is stone cold dead. I have always done a full boil because I am so grooved in my process knowing my boil off and how that impacts what is going to be my OG. Keep in mind I am adding about 8 IBU of Noble Hops for the full 60 min boil. I suppose its like trying to retrain an old dog who has boiled 60 min way too long. But, I do think you can alter this if you wish.

Yes, I use one rehydrated sachet of Safale US-05...works like a charm.

 

[TravelingLight]

Some folks simply heat the wort up to 180F after souring and go from there. Lacto is stone cold dead. I have always done a full boil because I am so grooved in my process knowing my boil off and how that impacts what is going to be my OG. Keep in mind I am adding about 8 IBU of Noble Hops for the full 60 min boil. I suppose its like trying to retrain an old dog who has boiled 60 min way too long. But, I do think you can alter this if you wish.

Yes, I use one rehydrated sachet of Safale US-05...works like a charm.

Fair enough. And good call on the water adjuncts. I recently got a Ward report and have been doing water adjustments as well. It has made one of the biggest improvements in most of my beers (especially my hoppy beers).

 

[Morrey]

Fair enough. And good call on the water adjuncts. I recently got a Ward report and have been doing water adjustments as well. It has made one of the biggest improvements in most of my beers (especially my hoppy beers).

Agreed! Water Chemistry is pretty involved and seems almost (at least to me) like a Master's Degree in brewing. I asked why water chemistry management is not stressed more to new brewers. I was told that brewing is stressful enough to new brewers so they are simply told that most tap water or RO water will make a decent enough beer. By the time they get the basics figured out, they are ready to learn more which is where water chemistry comes in. BUT, as you say, it make a HUGE difference making good beers even better...or great!

When you asked about the "no boil" Gose method, this kind of got started as an entry level sour mainly for folks using extract. With extract, all the "cooking" has been done so it is simple not to worry with the details of all grain. I still like the boiling method since it produces very predictable results for me. Like we said, all things are subject to change so let me know if you try a "boil less" all grain Gose.

 

[Izzie1701]

What size are your oak cubes you used. Mine are only 1cm x 1cm x 1cm. 2 feels like it won't add any flavor. Any idea approximate weight or the size of your cubes?

 

[Morrey]

What size are your oak cubes you used. Mine are only 1cm x 1cm x 1cm. 2 feels like it won't add any flavor. Any idea approximate weight or the size of your cubes?

Izzie I'd try maybe 2 or 3 ounces of cubes to see how that works out. Oaking is flexible in that the cubes can be pulled at any point that you feel you have the needed flavor profile. I bought some oak spirals the other day that are designed to fit into the opening of 1.75 liter bottles to oak spirits.

 

[Izzie1701]

Izzie I'd try maybe 2 or 3 ounces of cubes to see how that works out. Oaking is flexible in that the cubes can be pulled at any point that you feel you have the needed flavor profile. I bought some oak spirals the other day that are designed to fit into the opening of 1.75 liter bottles to oak spirits.

Hey Morrey,

Sorry maybe I'm confused. Your original post said 2 oak cubes in 1 cup of tequila. Was it supposed to read 2 oz of cubes not 2 cubes?