catch up chili

Fruit and sour beers typically combine their crisp acidity with delicate fruit aromas. Many are even brewed with fresh fruit and are wonderfully juicy and sweet. Gose is a slight exception: This classic sour beer from Lower Saxony is fermented with lactic acid bacteria and, moreover, contains no fruit, but rather spices. Coriander seeds and salt give the brew its fresh spiciness, while the salt accentuates and enhances the aromas. Nowadays, there are many interpretations that expand the historical recipe to include fruit—or even vegetables. The cucumber Gose from the Hertl brewery is legendary, and an exciting version with a salad-like flavor also comes from the far north.

The Estonian brewery Anderson’s presents Catch Up! Chili, an unconventional gose brewed with fresh basil, tomato puree, and fiery Carolina Reaper chili peppers. Not a beer for traditionalists!

After pouring, an exciting first impression unfolds: ripe tomato meets freshly picked basil on the nose, while the chili contributes a hint of heat. The first sip impressively continues this interplay, delivering crisp acidity, delicious tomato with a soft sweetness, earthy herbal spice, a pinch of salt, and a fiery heat that spreads through body and soul. A perfect alternative to salted tomato juice or a Bloody Mary!