Gose and Salt

[dhelegda]

My wife is huge fan of gose beers, so I’m jumping in and making one for her. The thing that’s is stumping me is the salt. It’s really had for me to think about pitching salt in to my wort, but hey in the name of beer I’ll do it. I have a ton of Pink Himalayan salt, can I use 30 grams of that, or should I just use 30g of regular ol’ table salt? It’s going to be a 5 gallon batch. I am adding coriander and raspberry. Thanks for any tips!

 

[Amadeo38]

If you like trace amounts of radioactive particles in your beer, sure - pink Himalayan will work just fine in equal parts. Some people dose a salt solution to taste at bottling to prevent accidentally going overboard. Like my uncle says, “salt is like anesthesia: you can’t take it back.”

 

[deadwolfbones]

Agreed, for your first go around, I'd go light on the salt. If you taste it and decide it could have used more, use more next time. Less salt and you've just got a Berliner, which is still a great beer. Too much salt and you've got an undrinkable mess.

 

[TwistedGray]

FWIW - It seems like 1oz (30g) is on the higher end of what people recommend, and it seems as though 0.5-0.75oz is the typical amount of salt for a 5 gallon batch. This is based on what I've read, not brewed.

Edit: DON'T forget the coriander as well...can't have one without the other!

 

[mabrungard]

Sodium is perceived by most people at around 250 ppm in water or beer. I find that targeting a sodium content right around that perception point, is good for Gose. That suggests about 2.4 grams of table salt per gallon.

 

[Amadeo38]

Sodium is perceived by most people at around 250 ppm in water or beer. I find that targeting a sodium content right around that perception point, is good for Gose. That suggests about 2.4 grams of table salt per gallon.

Given that sodium is often a remedy for bitterness, do you think the perception threshold of salt changes in the presence of hops, or other bitterness-promoting substances? In other words, might you need a bit more for perception when using sodium in beer?

 

[millsbrew]

You don’t need that much salt. I did 14g (0.5oz) for a 6gal batch and it was noticeable, but not salty. My next batch I’m going up to 18g. I read somewhere to keep the coriander in that same ball park (0.5oz for a 5/6gal batch). Good luck

Edit - use canning salt. No added crap in it.

 

[Morrey]

Salt in a Gose can vary greatly. I make a Margarita Gose and I like that one salty like a salt rimmed glass with lime. I use 28 g of sea salt for this one.

A less salty Blood Orange Gose is better than too salty, so this one I use 18 - 20 g of sea salt in a 5 g batch.

It all depends on your taste and additions.

 

[TwistedGray]

I read somewhere to keep the coriander in that same ball park (0.5oz for a 5/6gal batch).

Equal parts

 

[FatDragon]

I've done 1g/liter and felt it was too salty and 0.7g/liter and felt it was pretty close, but could handle a tad more salt. For coriander, I felt like I got a modest contribution at about 0.35g/liter, but I added sweet osmanthus flowers in equal proportion with the coriander so I wanted them to share the stage, so if you're just using salt and coriander, the suggestion above to use them in equal parts would probably work.

As for what kind of salt, iodized table salt may inhibit the yeast because of the iodine. I've heard the iron content of pink salt is not ideal for brewing as well, but I certainly never tasted anything metallic when I used it. If you want to be safe, maybe try non-iodized sea salt or canning salt.

What's your plan for souring?

 

[dhelegda]

So just an update on this beer. I added 30g of salt, 3lbs of raspberry purée, and soured it up with a tbs of lactic acid. The end result is a phenomenal home brew that could easily be mistaken as something brewed in your local brewery.