Whats a sour beer taste like or a bitter?

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mtk6006

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I know they can smell and look harsh when fermenting and im trying to get over that but What would you compare it to? I live where its hotter then hell! And i love a really hoppy beer that damn near taste like a orange peel. So something really bitter is a nice! after working all day in the heat. Would a sour one taste like those sour patch candy things or remember those cry baby gumballs? Is it similar to something like that? B/c i can eat those like its nothing! What am i looking at when it comes to smells looks temp and ferment time etc? and what kit? Since its my first sour or bitter id rather do a kit considering i dunno what im doing yet. Any advice?
 
Just no stouts or porters i have tried and tried and they keep tasting like coffee and well i just dont like coffee so and i have tried ipa s but they have some dark choc after taste which aint my thing either tast bud wise but ya know....
 
mtk6006 said:
I know they can smell and look harsh when fermenting and im trying to get over that but What would you compare it to? I live where its hotter then hell! And i love a really hoppy beer that damn near taste like a orange peel. So something really bitter is a nice! after working all day in the heat. Would a sour one taste like those sour patch candy things or remember those cry baby gumballs? Is it similar to something like that? B/c i can eat those like its nothing! What am i looking at when it comes to smells looks temp and ferment time etc? and what kit? Since its my first sour or bitter id rather do a kit considering i dunno what im doing yet. Any advice?

Sour =/= bitter. Two totally different things. If you want a beer high in hoppy bitterness try an ipa. If you're new to brewing I don't suggest starting with a sour, as they take a year minimum to be ready.
 
Bitters and sours are totally different animals. Bitters are not sour in any way. They are slightly hoppy, dark, and typically low alcohol. English pub beers.

Sour beers can be like a sour candy (I don't think I've had the ones you listed, but yes they can be sour like you described). Any beer can be soured by adding bacteria to the fermentation. My favorite is the Flanders Red.

You need to get off to a store and buy one to make sure you like it. You should be able to find Duchesse de Bourgogne (I think this is distributed widely). They take some thought to brew them correctly, and the fermentation can take up to a year (or more) to develop the rich cherry flavors.

I've never done a kit, no advice there.
 
Sounds like you need to look for a clone recipe for a type of beer you like, and go from there.
 
Sours don't make you pucker like sour candies. It's kinda hard to describe I guess. Search for some commercial example of a sour and try them. (I'm not a big fan of sours, so I can't think of any right from memory, also I'm a bit :drunk::drunk::drunk: from several experiments pouring a black and tan that have failed, but refuse to dump them, so my memory and thinking capabilities are a bit handicapped)

There are several different types of sours, so you shouldn't stop at one. (example: you try Lindemans Framboise and don't like it because of the raspberries, and refuse to try sours again.)

Well I guess I can think of an example: Lindemans Framboise.
 
Holy crap Batman, in the time it took me to type my last post, you got so many responses! As passedpawn said, Duchesse de Bourgogne is delicious and it's one of the few sours I have enjoyed.

Also, like passedpawn said, let them age for a while. It's much easier if you get a second carboy/fermenting vessel and throw it somewhere hidden so you will be more apt to forget about it for a year. If you can't see it, it's MUCH easier to age it for 1+ year(s). Out of sight, out of mind.
 
i have tried ipa s but they have some dark choc after taste which aint my thing either tast bud wise but ya know....

I'm a little confused as to what you are looking for. You say you like bitter beers, but you don't like IPA's? There should definitely not be chocolate notes in an IPA, unless it's a black/CDA or something, but I'm wondering if the "dark chocolate after taste" you are perceiving is the bitterness, as from unsweetened chocolate. In that case I think maybe you don't like bitter beers.

I think the suggestion to find a commercial beer that you like then get a clone recipe for that is a good one. If you can't find a kit there are many clone recipes online for popular beers.
 
I guess my bitter taste like it's suppose to , so says the
Englishman (beer sweller) that lives across da street....

lucked out again ....
 
I'm a little confused as to what you are looking for. You say you like bitter beers, but you don't like IPA's? There should definitely not be chocolate notes in an IPA, unless it's a black/CDA or something, but I'm wondering if the "dark chocolate after taste" you are perceiving is the bitterness, as from unsweetened chocolate. In that case I think maybe you don't like bitter beers.

I think the suggestion to find a commercial beer that you like then get a clone recipe for that is a good one. If you can't find a kit there are many clone recipes online for popular beers.

Ya know what I might be confusing the two. What are some more beers that have a choclate tasting end so i have something to compare to and figure out if its just my taste buds. Shelf stuff though we have beer isles here whole bunch of imports and not much micros but its getting better. Hell i never thought id see the day of 6 point beer now im seeing 8.4 :) Actually starting to see more fat tire around whats that taste like? I like flying dog and sierra nevada pale ale and rj rockers patriot pale ale(thats a local) but that ipa was rj rockers bell ringer(they used to call it ipa i dunno maybe they changed something) was tough NOT in a bad way just after bite was a bit much for me. Is a ipa not for me? Im guessing a sour or bitter isnt atleast not yet.

And yes i know no commas keyboard is busted i dunno why. I need to change it i know but other things first like BEEER! :mug:
 
I have a friend who describes the taste of sour beers as "being 2 weeks away from vinegar". (He's a Coors Light drinker.....go figure)
 
We just pulled the cork on a big bottle of Chimay Blue label trappist ale last night. It's almost as dark as my Burton ale (see pic in my gallery). Decent carbonation around 2 volumes from the look of it. It tastes like an ale brewed at the low end of the yeasts' range & soured lightly. Like a sour lager thing on the back. Not overbaring though. Just the right amount of sour on the back. To me it tastes like an English bitter with a touch of sour.
Makes for a different sort of crispness on the back.
 

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