State Fair Home Brewing Winner Brews Gose At F.X. Matt

The winner of the New York State Fair's home brewer's competition this year is Carl Woodward of Panther Lake who took home the "Best in Show" award for his Panther Lake Gose. Woodward also walked away with the chance to brew his winning recipe at the F.X. Matt Brewery for an entry in this year's Great American Beer Festival.

Woodward (above left) won "Best in Show" at the fair for his German style Gose and is now collaborating with the F.X. Matt Brewery to present the beer at the Great American Beer Festival's pro-am division in Colorado in October.

Gose is a German style beer that Woodward says is based on a Hefeweizen, but with a saltier and slightly more sour taste than is traditionally found in German brews.

Woodward has been brewing out of his garage for the past 8 years and said he wanted to try something a little different for a change. He said working with the F.X. Matt Brewery was a great experience and that they "rolled out the red carpet for him."

F.X. Matt Product Development Manager Rich Michaels worked with Woodward to produce Gose on a larger scale and said he enjoyed working on the German style brew because the recipe for Gose is over a thousand years old and he hasn't made anything like it before.