Sour Flight

So I have been tasked to bring a sampling of sour beers to Thanksgiving festivities with my family this year. A handful of my cousins have a good nose and appreciation for a fine brew, and I in fact give most people in my family a couple bottles of homebrew every year for Chrsitmas.

Anyway, I am trying to get soem ideas for about 4-6 different sour beers to help indoctrinate them to this fine world... but I am not an "expert". I want to avoid the REALLY funky sour beers (Cantillion) just because I think the strong "horse blanket" would completely turn them off.

Some names/styles that I have considered:

Rodenbach
Duchesse (just because my wife and I love it)
Lindemans (Pomme)
Maybe a simple Berliner-weisse (with syrup)

Any other suggestions or recommendations?

Odell aud bruin ale

New Belgium tart Lychee

If you can find em where you are

petrus oud bruin
liefman oud bruin and cuvee brut

Petrus Oud Bruin
Monk's Cafe Oud Bruin

Those are two I particularly enjoy.

I would definitely trade from some of the Cascade sours out by Portland, Oregon. All of them are amazing.

Russian River sours from Cali are obviously good too. My favorite is Supplication.

Jolly Pumpkin out of Michigan is closer to your location. Though I find their sours need some age to be complex and nicely carbonated.

What cascade sours? Cascade Brewing co. ?

Yes

My wife has just recently started getting into sours, and she seems to really enjoy the Timmerman's Cherry and Framboise lambics. I'm mostly an IPA guy, but they taste pretty good to me and seem like easily accessible and not overly sweet. We've also had a gose by Choc Beer out of Oklahoma that was fantastic, but we've only been able to get it locally in a growler. Not sure if they bottle that one.

Do you get Jolly Pumpkin down that way? If so, I'd add one or two from them.

Panil Barriquee (expensive, but worth it)
Petrus Oud Bruin
Brouwerij Bokor's Bellegems Bruin. It isn't mind blowing, but it's cheap and on the sweeter side, like Duchesse. Easy to enjoy.
New Belgium Lips of Faith - La Folie
Liefman's Cuvee Brut

Those are all relatively easy to find, especially if you have a Whole Foods or Total Wine nearby. None of them are too aggresive. Lot's of good sweet and tart flavors going on. Along with the brands you already mentioned, these are what I give to people the first time they try sour beer.

The only other one I'd suggest is Lindeman's Framboise. My wife loves that stuff.

I've had luck with the following (which have all been mentioned already):
Supplication
Duchesse
Monk's Oud Bruin
Bellegems Bruin

Escoffier Bretta Ale - collaboration between Brewery Vivant (Grand Rapids, MI) and New Belgium.

I haven't had many sour beers, but this one blew me away.

La Folie is definitely not an appropriate choice if you're trying to avoid overly sour beers.

La Folie is definitely not an appropriate choice if you're trying to avoid overly sour beers.

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You think so? I never thought of it as overly sour. It's not nearly as sour as something like a Tilquin or Hanssens gueuze. Or even La Roja for that matter.

ICWiener said:

You think so? I never thought of it as overly sour. It's not nearly as sour as something like a Tilquin or Hanssens gueuze. Or even La Roja for that matter.

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Well he said he wanted to avoid really sour beers which crosses off pretty much anything lambic or any flanders reds. La Folie is pretty acetic which comes across like malt vinegar for a lot of people. The ph is pretty low although not as low as Hanssens.

I second Monk's Cafe and Jolly Pumpkin. Calabaza Blanca from Jolly Pumpkin is a good intro beer, but the others offer a lot of complexity (if also more sourness). Russian River also has some fantastic choices. Consecration is my favorite. New Belgium has a new one out - Peach Porch Lounger. I think it is a brett beer, so not very sour, but kind of funky in a fruity way. Strange, but good as a small serving.

I also enjoy Bourgogne Des Flandres - similar to Monk's, but a little sweeter I think. Definitely has a soda-like flavor to me.

You can order Cascade's sours through the mail.

I would try and get your hands on a supplication or consecration. Hell, PM me and I'll trade you something.

It doesn't sound like he against the sourness, but the funkiness. So RR beers and Cascade would be ideal, where as some of the Jolly Pumpkin's I've had have seemed more funky and less sour.

Cascade makes some great sours, and are accessible, I'd recommend any of theirs. La Folie is a turn off for most non-beer geeks/sour beer afficianados, Jolly Pumpkin and Russian River's sours are good, and you could always get some of the New Belgium Lips of Faith series sours that aren't La Folie. Duchesse de Bourgogne is an easy one for people to start out with too.

I can totally understand the desire to avoid "vinegary sours" and "horse blanket Brett sours". They're not for everyone. The OP would probably have better luck with the American Wild Ale category vs. Flanders Ales and Lambics.

But don't discount "funk" entirely when you read a review. Some funk can add amazing, yet bearable complexity if it's highlighted appropriately in a sour.

And as it pertains to the level of sourness, the more the better!! Gueuzes and American Wilds can be quite sour. Depending on their age, Cisco Lady of the Woods and Russian River Compunction can both be like sucking on a Warhead candy. Yet both are fruity, citrusy, dry, and not funky or reminiscent of horsey hay.

pdxal said:

Duchesse de Bourgogne is an easy one for people to start out with too.

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Duchesse was recommended to us by our beer store so we gave it a shot last weekend. We thought it had a bit of a Worcestershire flavor to it. Maybe we misinterpreted it as something else, but we weren't too crazy about it.

Tart of Darkness was also recommended, but as it came in a 750 ml bottle and we are both new to sours we passed because we didn't want to have that much beer that we might not like. Has anyone tried it?

MTate37 said:

Duchesse was recommended to us by our beer store so we gave it a shot last weekend. We thought it had a bit of a Worcestershire flavor to it. Maybe we misinterpreted it as something else, but we weren't too crazy about it.

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I can see that. The first few sips of Duchesse for me tasted pretty good, but by the end of the glass I was really over it. I can definitely picture what you're talking about with Worcestershire.

MTate37 said:

but as it came in a 750 ml bottle and we are both new to sours we passed because we didn't want to have that much beer that we might not like.

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You'll find that 99.9% of sours come in singles or the larger 22-24 oz. bottles. It's not too often that you see them in 4 or 6 packs.

bobbrews said:

You'll find that 99.9% of sours come in the larger 22-24 oz. bottles. It's not too often that you see them in 4 or 6 packs.

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Our beer store has a decent selection of singles in approximately 12 oz bottles but they range anywhere from $4 to $15. They will let you break a pack, but you're right, they only carry a couple of sours that come in packs. Makes it a little frustrating when you want to expand you're horizons. We would have been screwed if we had bought a 750 ml bottle of Duchesse. The other couple with us that night disliked it outright and we grew tired of it after just a few sips.

What sours in 12 oz. bottles are you finding other than Duchesse?

Russian River has a few 350 ml bottles. Haven't seen many more quality sours offered in that size. I don't really pay attention to Lindemann's offerings. Maybe they do it.

If you can get your hands on some Timmermans pumpkin lambic, I'd recommend it. Well-balanced, not super off-putting to newbies, and seasonally appropriate.

MTate37 said:

Tart of Darkness was also recommended, but as it came in a 750 ml bottle and we are both new to sours we passed because we didn't want to have that much beer that we might not like. Has anyone tried it?

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Tart of Darkness is amazing!

Also, I know several people have mentioned Jolly Pumpkin, but not too many specific names. I think the Oro de Calabaza is a great sour, especially for those just getting into them. Not overbearing at all, but really well balanced.

Also, someone has mentioned Petrus Oud Bruin, but I would also suggest Petrus Aged Pale Ale. Its more sour than the oud bruin and less sweet. Its their sour base beer that gets blended with the younger and sweeter cousin to make the oud bruin.

Finally, please, for their sake, get Russian River Temptation. That beer is liquid gold.

Not sure how far they distribute, but Hoodwink by Two Brothers Brewing was pretty tasty... and not too sour.

What sours in 12 oz. bottles are you finding other than Duchesse?

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They're out there. I can fairly easily get Petrus Oud Bruin, Petrus Aged Pale, Duchesse, Bellegems Bruin, Monk's Cafe, and Cuvee des Jacobins all in 11 or 12oz bottles.

Ahh, I don't really buy too many of the Belgians other than Cantillon.

Well, there's nothing wrong with sticking to Cantillion. I wish it were more readily available out here. I have a hell of a time finding it.

My absolute favorite so far was Rodenbach Grand Cru. Unfortunately my state has a dearth of sour beers. When I visit CA or other states I'm on the lookout (I still need to make a trip to MA - I think Cantillon can be found there).

Liefmans Goudenband was probably the best Oud Bruin I had.

Wild ales: Brux! It's a Sierra Nevada & Russian River collaboration and it's amazing. Comes off like a super dry saison and tastes like a 4%ABV beer (it's 8.3%).

Lambics I've had, but I don't think I can recommend any particular one yet. I wouldn't stay away from funk, though.... that's the whole point!

malweth said:

My absolute favorite so far was Rodenbach Grand Cru.

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Tell me about Grand Cru. Just thirty minutes ago I was in a grocery store near work and noticed Grand Cru for the first time.

Tell me about Grand Cru. Just thirty minutes ago I was in a grocery store near work and noticed Grand Cru for the first time.

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It's essentially Rodenbach, but blended with a higher percentage of their aged beer. It's 66% vs the 25% that's in their standard beer. It's more tart, more assertive. I like it, but if you were turned off by Duchesse, you might not be into it. They are somewhat similar, although I'm sure someone will chime in to disagree!