Sour beers - where do I start?

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Soulive

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After hearing about sour/infected beers over the past year or so, I'm looking to try some. I'm a noob with this style(s), so can you guys recommend some starting points?
 
Rodenbach is well known and a decent sour. They have a classic Red and a Grand Cru, the Grand Cru is really good. I really like Duchesse de Bourgogne from Brouwerij Verhaeghe.
 
So the Kreik style is sour?

Kreik is Lambic with cherries. Famboise is Lambic with raspberries. Geueze is unfruited lambic.

I suggest starting with Lindemans, as it's the easiest to find...though they use fruit juice concentrate and aren't as authentic...and they're a little too sweet and fruity for my tastes.

Past that, go with my all-time favorite, Hanssen's. Their kreik is the JOINT!!!! Also try the Geueze. Anything by Cantillon is amazing too. Also try some flanders red styles. Monk's sour is awesome. Rodenbach is delicious, and Rodenbach Grand Cru is even better, I think.
 
I know where I can get Cantillon and Rodenbach. I definitely have access to Lindeman's but I want the authentic stuff. Are there any American versions?
 
I know Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa, CA has three soured barrel aged beers called Temptation, Supplication, and Beatification. Not sure you can get them out there, but there are some good sour beers coming out of American craft breweries.
 
I know Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa, CA has three soured barrel aged beers called Temptation, Supplication, and Beatification. Not sure you can get them out there, but there are some good sour beers coming out of American craft breweries.

Thanks, I have heard of them but didn't realize they were soured. I have a 750ml of Ommegeddon which has Brett in it. I haven't tasted it yet though...
 
I know where I can get Cantillon and Rodenbach. I definitely have access to Lindeman's but I want the authentic stuff. Are there any American versions?

I believe Allagash has a project going, but I am not sure when their first release is/was/will be?

The Lindeman's, like Evan! mentions is a fair intro because it is readily available. Aside from being extremely sweet, it does have the nice mustiness in it and does have an enjoyable flavor for what it is. But imho, it's not very sour. New Glarus's Raspberry Tart is very similar to the Lineman's Framboise.

The Rodenbach Grand Cru and Cantillon are certainly good places to start, just be open to exploring the flavors.

There used to be a popular beverage called a "Shrub" which is basically water, vinegar, fruit juice or concentrate and some sugar to balance. Serve it on ice on a hot day is supposedly good. Albeit, this is a far cry from a sour beer, it will give you a similar experience to gauge if you are up for the intensity some of these beers have to offer. A coworker cannot see the value in sour beers. Me on the other hand, well I love all sorts of experiences. :D
 
I believe Allagash has a project going, but I am not sure when their first release is/was/will be?

The Lindeman's, like Evan! mentions is a fair intro because it is readily available. Aside from being extremely sweet, it does have the nice mustiness in it and does have an enjoyable flavor for what it is. But imho, it's not very sour. New Glarus's Raspberry Tart is very similar to the Lineman's Framboise.

The Rodenbach Grand Cru and Cantillon are certainly good places to start, just be open to exploring the flavors.

There used to be a popular beverage called a "Shrub" which is basically water, vinegar, fruit juice or concentrate and some sugar to balance. Serve it on ice on a hot day is supposedly good. Albeit, this is a far cry from a sour beer, it will give you a similar experience to gauge if you are up for the intensity some of these beers have to offer. A coworker cannot see the value in sour beers. Me on the other hand, well I love all sorts of experiences. :D

I'm also into new experiences and I don't want to rule any styles if I haven't tried them. I may not like them but I'll give them a good shot...
 
Lindemans Pomme (Apple) is a dead ringer for Apple Jolly Ranchers.
Also you might be able to find a Berliner Weiss or a Gose these days. Someone brought a homebrew example to Bobby's (from the Whales Club) when I was there.

These are mildly sour.
 
Lindemans Pomme (Apple) is a dead ringer for Apple Jolly Ranchers.
Also you might be able to find a Berliner Weiss or a Gose these days. Someone brought a homebrew example to Bobby's (from the Whales Club) when I was there.

These are mildly sour.

I'll look for some Festina Peche or Kindl Weisse. I'd really like to try Lindemans Gueuze Cuvee Rene...
 
Lindemans Pomme (Apple) is a dead ringer for Apple Jolly Ranchers.
Also you might be able to find a Berliner Weiss or a Gose these days. Someone brought a homebrew example to Bobby's (from the Whales Club) when I was there.

These are mildly sour.

By the way, thanks for introducing me to the Lindemans at Papagos. I've been pushing the apple on all the women who tell me they don't like beer in a snobby absolute tone.

Ben, try Rodenbach red. It's really good.
 
By the way, thanks for introducing me to the Lindemans at Papagos. I've been pushing the apple on all the women who tell me they don't like beer in a snobby absolute tone.

I shudder to think the damage I could have done back in the day-- armed with this knowledge. ;)
 
I'm also into new experiences and I don't want to rule any styles if I haven't tried them. I may not like them but I'll give them a good shot...

Cool deal. I was just kind of giving a general "kind of tastes like" thing with the Shrub idea. I guess all in all though, you'd only be out some clams (I can only get these types of singles one place and they are quite costly) so nothing ventured...nothing gained :D.
 
Cool deal. I was just kind of giving a general "kind of tastes like" thing with the Shrub idea. I guess all in all though, you'd only be out some clams (I can only get these types of singles one place and they are quite costly) so nothing ventured...nothing gained :D.

I don't mind the money. I like spending on experiential things rather than material things. Regardless of my reaction, its more beer knowledge...:mug:
 
Actual Berliner Weisse is very sour to the point where they add fruit syrups to make them like a fruit lambic. Unfortionatly the stuff we have get over here is about .1 as sour as the real thing.

Back to topic Rodenbach and especially the Grand Cru are great beers. The Duchesse de Borgorgne is a good beer. If you want something without the oakiness try Liefman's Goudenbond which is a Flander's Brown.

When going to the lambic I agree with what was said before if you want a fruit lambic don't go with Lindeman's. But their Cuvee Rene is actually very good. Cantillon comma Hansen's and Boon's all make very good lambics. Cantillon is the only unblended lambic we can get over here and this one I really injoyed.
 
Thanks for the info everyone. Now two questions; what should I be looking for when tasting and which cheese goes best with these beers? I'm guessing some funky/infected...
 
I can't stand the Lindenmann's fruit "lambics". They taste like bad koolaid to me. However the Cuvee Rene is very good. I just had one the other night.
Rodenbach seems to be something that is not hard to find. Red is pretty good but I prefer the more sour and less fruity Grand Cru.

These are the only sour beers i have found so far but I have been intrigued enough to brew my own. For father's day I brewed a sorta flander's red that I pitched with the Roselare blend from Wyeast. I let you know how it tastes in 6months to a year.

Craig
 
Thanks for the info everyone. Now two questions; what should I be looking for when tasting and which cheese goes best with these beers? I'm guessing some funky/infected...

Depends on what you get but you can approach it like any other style...do a bit of research and then evaluate your sample at the optimal temp with your senses. Overall, enjoy the ride into new territory. The cheese thing can be a bit subjective but I pref something a bit uncomplicated when I am sipping on something already funky and complex on it's own. I have to say I love the reaction of people's faces when they first get a whiff of some of the more barnyardy examples...reminds me of my first funk-a-fied brew.
 
I just mentioned in another thread we have a red ale "soured" with brett on tap at our Boston brewery. (Harpoon ftw!!)

Furthermore, we actually came up with the idea to make our Raspberry UFO when we brewed a Framboise in our 100 barrel series...cool story
 
I've tried several belgian and belgian-style sour beers recently. I have always enjoyed the lindemans fruit beers, but as mentioned they're pretty un-beer-like. But I recently had a bottle of their gueze cuvee and was blown away.

I also recently had the chance to try the Duchess on tap. Definitely an experience, an incredibly lively beer. It would be a great way to end every evening of drinking . . . probably following the apfelwein, though this may be debatable.

I'm fortunate to live a few miles from Russian River and have tried a few of their offerings. Very good and interesting are the operative words for my experiences so far, but I am determined to press on until I "get it". :D

I also have a bottle of Ommegeddon in my fridge. Going to bust into that one soon I'm sure. I really enjoyed the Witte and the Hennepin that I bought at the same time.
 
Yesterday I bought the Monk's Red and the Cantillon Rosé. I only got to try the Monk's but man was it different. I didn't love or hate it, but it was definitely new to my palate. The most notable aspect was the tart, almost vinegary mouthfeel. While I was drinking it, I kept thinking it was asking for fruit. I think I'll like the Cantillon for that reason...:mug:
 
No one mentioned Jolly Pumpkin yet. they are another american brewery that has some decent sours. Try the La Roja, it is pretty tasty.
 
Wow, I just cracked the Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus. It is unlike anything I've ever had. I don't even know what to compare it to. Its really sour, but fairly balanced by the fruit flavor. The mouthfeel is more acidic than anything I've ever had. Are these styles love/hate or are they an acquired taste? I neither love nor hate them so far and I'm intrigued to try others...
 
...Are these styles love/hate or are they an acquired taste? I neither love nor hate them so far and I'm intrigued to try others...

If you are interested in trying others, you're on the right path IMO.

I started to get curious, had a few, got a bit more curious to compare within the style, and about a year later I seem to always be on the lookout for a new bottle to try. I've yet to really find a style that just puts me off to the point where I would ever just write it off and it sounds like you are in that same space as well :mug:
 
I tried a cerise casee from cambridge brewing company a week ago. Its really somethin. Its a spontaneously fermented sour mashed beer. Tastes like a warhead with a subtle complexity to it.
 
I don't know if you can get Avery Brewing Co. beers out east, but their 15th Anniversary Beer, called "Fifteen" is a "Belgian Farmhouse" brewed entirely with Brett. I have been buying a bottle a week since it came out a month or two ago, it is fantastic. Not super sour, but definitely has a funk.

Jolly Pumpkin was mentioned, I had one of their beers, can't remember the name but it was supposedly a sour IPA, I didn't like it very much.
 
Just tried a Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour Ale. My first sour. Is this a good representation of what I can expect from other?
 
Just tried a Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour Ale. My first sour. Is this a good representation of what I can expect from other?

IMHO sour ales as a category are as diverse as any other...Granted, there are some generalities you could prb make. Heck, just dig though the bjcp descriptions of their subcategories of sour ales:

http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style17.html

On the monks if you had it from the bottle, I found that to be very mild and more focused on the cherry flavoring than the sour end of things.
 
IMHO sour ales as a category are as diverse as any other...Granted, there are some generalities you could prb make. . . . . . . On the monks if you had it from the bottle, I found that to be very mild and more focused on the cherry flavoring than the sour end of things.

The reason I asked is that the process and the science behind these brews looked interesting. Like something that would be fun to brew, so I was excited to try one. I hate to admit this for fear of being ostracized for having poor taste, but that sour was the first thing I’ve dumped in a long time. Tasted like carbonated vinegar. I was hoping that I might have better luck with some other brand / style.
 
No one mentioned Jolly Pumpkin yet. they are another american brewery that has some decent sours. Try the La Roja, it is pretty tasty.

Jolly Pumpkin has some fantastic brews! I am literally minutes away from this small brewery, so message me if you are interested in trying some of these fine beers!

http://www.jollypumpkin.com
 
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