Tag Archives: Sour Beer

Prairie Flare – Prairie Artisan Ales – Tulsa, OK

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IMG_3610 (1)Brew: Prairie Flare

Brewery: Prairie Artisan Ales

Style: Gose ABV 5.4%

Prairie Flare pours a hazy pale orange with a funky tart citrus nose.  The first taste is extremely refreshing with an upfront tartness that makes the mouth water. Notes of coriander/cilantro, sea salt, savory orange, and blood orange are both poignant and pleasant. Background notes of citrus (lemon, lime), pepper, and a perfect level of carbonation greet the drinker as well.   It’s not every day you find a brewery that keeps delivering creative, unique libations, each with it’s own twist. Prairie Artisan Ales has consistently delivered exceptionally creative beers that have captivated my taste buds and trapped my attention, it you’re looking for an outside-the-box beer look no further.  If you’re a fan of sour beer, Prairie Flare takes what you have come to expect from a gose a step further.  If you are new to sour beer this is a great place to start.   I highly suggest finding a Prairie Flare, or any Prairie libation for that matter, and experiencing great taste, great perspective, and something new.

Seller Description: Flare (yes, that’s how we are spelling it) is our gose that we have added citrus fruit to. This beer is slightly tart, a little salty, and has a nice balance from the fruit and spices. Ale brewed with orange and coriander.

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Here Gose Nothin’ – Destihl Brewery – Bloomington, IL

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Brew:  Here Gose Nothin’ : Wild Sour Series (Can)

Brewery:  Destihl Brewery

Style:  Gose  ABV 5%

Here Gose Nothin’ pours a golden orange darker than the typical gose.  The nose is fruity and floral with citrus notes and provocative hints of lactobacillus that make the mouth water before the first sip.  The taste is tart, refreshing, and dominated by citrus flavors of lemon and lime.  The tart sourness and sweetness is balanced by the perfect level of saltiness and spices.  Like Here Gose Nothin’, Many sour beers undergo a “wild” fermentation process meaning the yeast that forms the acidity comes from the local environment.  This natural process creates an acidity and a flavor that is unique to each brew and each batch. This beer undoubtedly has its own unique character and also possesses a refreshing drinkability.  Here Gose Nothin’ is a ‘wildly’ successful take on a gose and it is truly a triumph in the world of Sour Beer.  Looking forward to the rest of the Wild Sour Series…

Seller Description:  Our Leipzig-Style Gose undergoes a spontaneous fermentation, similar to Belgian-style Gueuze/Lambic beers, and exhibits a complexity of acidic flavor and aroma contributed by wild yeast lactic fermentation. Lemon, lime and other citrus-like qualities are present in aroma and on the palate, which is balanced by the spicy character of added coriander and a mineral-mouthfeel from added sea salt.

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Divergent – Rivertown Brewing Company – Cincinnati, OH

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Brew:  Divergent (On draft)

Brewery:  Rivertown Brewing Company

Style:  Berliner Weissbier ABV 3.8%

The nose is fruity with the scent of apple, lemon and a light yeastiness.  A sip immerses the drinker in flavors of apple, pear, citrus, very light hoppiness and malt, and that signature almost vinegary lactobacillus tartness.  These tastes become more apparent as the beer warms, the fruit flavors themselves are very tart and reminiscent of fruit rind. Light in carbonation this Berliner has extremely refreshing qualities that yield to a crisp tartness making the mouth water and the lips pucker. This beer is ‘Divergent’ from the traditional clear, concise, and straightforward Berliner Weiss style because it possesses full bodied fruit flavors and a sour funk that is anything but ordinary. The Berliner Weissbier style in general tends to have lower ABV but delivers on taste and a unique experience.  Divergent is true to the style in this sense and takes the refreshing qualities of a Berliner further with its flavors and depth. For a tart, flavorful, throught-provoking experience reach for a Divergent.

Seller Description: Flappers have always been a symbol of change and rebellion, harkening to a time where challenging the norm was all the rage. This beer embraces and celebrates that vibrant, relentless spirit. Representing the rebirth of a brewery and the reclamation of a dream, this beer is a completely contradictory experience where the wort is soured, the hops are minimized and the beer is filtered to be brilliant. Crisp, delicate, cutting edge, complex and tart, pouring a bright citrine with a nose of gently soured rind fruit, this beer is exactly what is needed when looking for a little something…Divergent.

Hot Little Miami Tart – Stone Brewing Co. / J. Wakefield – Escondito, CA

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IMG_1558Incredible collaboration. Pours a gentle orange with an opaque tan hue.  The nose is acidic and makes the mouth water, it also smells of peppers and tropical fruit.  The taste is intense and complex for a Berliner Weiss.  The flavor encompasses slight heat and spiciness from the peppers and gives way to citrus and lush tropical fruit.  The tartness in this Berliner is rich with lemon and intense in the most pleasing way.  The fruit, the peppers, and the tartness are all very pronounced flavors but they seem to balance one another perfectly.  Light carbonation makes this Berliner Weissbier truly pleasing to the senses.  Hot Little Miami Tart is a collaboration between Stone Brewing Company in California and J. Wakefield Brewing in Miami Florida.  This sour beer is quite the success and illustrates why collaborations and creative recipes are making the world of craft beer exciting and progressive.  This is a great take on a Berliner Weissbier and definitely does the style justice. ABV 4.0%

Monomoy Kriek – Cisco Brewers Inc. – The Woods – Nantucket, MA

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IMG_2080-2Brew: Monomoy Kriek

Brewery: Cisco Brewers Inc.

Style: Sour/Wild Ale

Pours a beautiful crimson violet that permeates the head creating a rosy tint.  The nose is packed with tart cherry.  The cherry flavor has a broad spectrum ranging from crisp and ripe to sweet and sour.  The barrel aging adds an oaky edge to this impressive creation.   The tartness is mouthwatering and epitomizes a great sour.  The acid adds a fine balance to the fruit flavors. This kriek* is an undeniable testament to the style.  I was pleased to find a serendipitously fresh batch of this in Northampton, MA at a bar called the Dirty Truth.  Lambics and associated fruity sour beers tend to have low ABV but this beer registers at an honorable 6.7%.   This kriek is a great choice for a night out or as a morning companion for a plate of chicken and waffles.  According to the seller this cherried Flemish sour was aged for 2 years, 10 months on sour cherries, I must say it was worth the wait.

* Kriek is a word of Flemish origin that refers to a cherry-infused style of Belgian beer, fermenting a Lambic (Belgian fruit style) with sour Morello cherries.

Lemon Cello (Limoncello) IPA – Siren Craft Brew / Hill Farmstead / Mikkeller – United Kingdom

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This beer is as difficult to describe as it is easy to enjoy. The nose is thick with lemon and citrus with a slight air of Maltiness. The taste centers around lemon with a background of citrus and the tropical fruit beginnings of the hops. For me it was important to note that the tartness instead of puckering was mouthwatering and truly satisfying. As these tastes manifest, the hops become more apparent and the all star cast of this experience fully reveal themselves. Any fan of IPAs always enjoys an IPA with something new to offer, this beer is it. I have never had a beer with such tartness, well rounded flavor, and a proper ABV for a sour beer. This collaboration between Hill Farmstead, Mikkeller and Siren Craft Brew delivers a truly amazing, scrumptious, distinctive IPA. ABV 9%.

Seller Description: This is a truly different beer. The concept was to develop the flavour and mouthfeel of Limoncello and fuse with the carbonation and lemony hop hit of an IPA. Using pale and wheat malts, the base beer goes through a 24 hour sour process to add to the tartness of the beer. Tons of lemon zest and juice are added to the boil along with all the citrusy lemony hops available

La Luna Rossa – Birrificio Del Ducato – Italy

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IMG_1724Brew: La Luna Rossa

Brewery: Birrificio Del Ducato

Style: Sour/Wild Ale ABV 8%

Pours a violet amber with a nose of cherry, dark fruit and berries. This beer comes in at 8% and is a refreshing reminder that sour beers reminiscent of lambics can be more than fruity and light. La luna rosa has depth and a mouthwatering tartness to support the claim. Notes of black cherry, cherry, and raspberry permeate this libation yielding to that puckering thought-provoking taste only great beers can achieve. If you desire a brew that is not only authentic and unique but one that can satisfy your palate, seek out La Luna Rossa barrificio del ducato. It might be hard to find because it is produced in small batches with painstaking precision. It can also be expensive but keep searching if you find an absurd price tag, good carriers will have no trouble moving this exceptional product at a fair price, except no imitations, especially in the face of the sour beer connoisseur. Long live lactobacillus.

Seller Description:  The start is a sour base which has undergone at least 2 years of mixed fermentation with acetic and lactic bacteria as well as Brettanomyces strains. Amarena and morel cherries are then added for additional flavor for at least 6 months. The beer is then blended with part L’Ultima Luna and part young beer and poured into numbered bottles indicating the year of the curvee. 12 more months of maturation in bottle are required before entering the market.  La Luna Rossa resembles a Flemish red based kriek beer and is extraordinarily complex and elegant. Lovers of this blend find it hard to forget.

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The Passion of the Weiss – Schilling Craft Brews – Northampton, MA

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The Passion of the WeisseBrew: Passion of the Weiss

Brewery: Schilling Craft Brews

Style: Berliner Weissbier

This Double Berliner Weisse pours a beautiful golden tone of cadmium yellow. The passion fruit nose is poignant and mouthwatering, ushering fourth a sip of tartness that can only be described as mindblowing. This Berliner packs quite a punch and emanates the tropical fruit flavor and tartness of its namesake. It is a beer that truly delivers with brilliant sourness, passion fruit flavor that is by no means eclipsed by its tartness, background notes of tropical fruit and citrus, and a perfect level of carbonation. Also, The sheer thought of integrating a fruit that possesses its own qualities of tartness into a sour beer such as a Berliner is unmitigated genius. The Passion of the Weiss was fermented with passion fruit and double brewed or ‘long aged’ in a small batch so it has a higher ABV than your traditional Berliner. For any connoisseur of beer sour beers are a treat and a delight, they explore new avenues of taste and new possibilities in the world of craft beer.

This Berliner comes from Mike Schilling, an expert brewer and creator of thought provoking beers, who consistently creates beers that are as interesting as they are delicious. This beer, I am sorry to say, is not available commercially. In order to find a libation with taste of this magnitude one must locate Mike Schilling and gain access to his stores or find out what new brew is on the horizon. ABV 6.2%

Gillian – Goose Island Brewery – Chicago, IL

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Gillian - Goose Island Brewery - Chicago, ILThis Saison/Farmhouse ale pours with a fizzy head and an opaque golden color. It is fruity with a very slight white pepper flavor, the strawberry is also noticeable but a very pleasant cider-like apple/apricot taste is more present in the taste and aroma . The honey is a wonderful background note contributing to the tartness. Beers that are tart and sour are my favorite and the large variety of sour styles are some of the most complex, exciting, creative beers available.  At ~$30 a bottle, Gillian is quite an expensive beer but like any delicious and unique bottle of wine, if the flavor is something special and enjoyable, it is definitely worth the price.

Bottle Description: Gillian is a Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale that brings together fresh ingredients sourced locally from family farms in Michigan and Illinois. Gillian is partially aged in wine barrels with 10,000 pounds of strawberries, 4,000 pounds of honey and white pepper. Gillian is 9.5% alcohol by volume and develops in the bottle for up to 5 years.

Justin Blåbær – Evil Twin Brewing – Denmark

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JustinBlaeberThis Berliner Weissbier pours a purple amber color with a rich sweet and sour blueberry nose.  This beer is true to the sour and acidic nature of the style but with exceedingly pronounced flavors of fruit.  Justin Blåbær has a strong and pronounced blueberry flavor that dominates along with hints of raspberry and lemon, the dark and sweet fruit is sour in a poignant yet pleasant way.  The tartness and overall blueberry flavor of Justin Blåbær is not contrived, it is something to treasure sip by sip.

The Berliner Weissbeir is one of the most popular and most appreciated sour beers and one of my favorites.  With unknown and mystical origins pertaining to Jusitn Beiber, Evil Twin’s excellent execution of a Berliner Weiss  is a success.

Seller Description:  OMG! It’s JUSTIN BLABAER!!! If you have “Blabaer Fever,” then this is the only cure. We stuffed so many blueberries into this beer- it’s going to make you shout, “Oh, Baby!” ABV 4.5%