Well, after doing a lot of reading on spontaneous fermented beer, and a post of two here on HBT, I made the sour beer leap of faith! I consider it venturing outside my comfort zone because I ususally buy APA's, IPA's, wheat beers and belgian strong ales.
I'll begin by saying that the idea of spontaneous fermentation in beer was sparked by the fact that I have 3 gallons of local-grown concord grape wine that was made by spontaneous fermentation. So far so good on the wine, but it got me thinking on how it would turn out in a beer.
After reading some reviews of different beer that were suggested to me by HBT members on ratebeer.com, I was a little bit concerned. Quite a few people on the ratebeer site described an acetic or vinegar taste in a few of the sour beers. I cant stand the smell of vinegar and dont much care for the taste either. Anyway, I decided to try it and here I am!
The beer: Lindemans Gueuze Cuvee Renee. Label says it was bottled in '05. Kinda pricey at $9.99 for a 750mL bottle but about as cheap as a bottle of cheap wine. My first impressions upon opening the bottle were that it smells a little skunky, but not bad. What may be bad is that it reminds me of every Heineken beer I've ever drank(ducks and covers now!)
As much as I was fearing it, it did NOT taste like vinegar at all to me, what a relief!!!! Kind of a champagne like taste, but not bad. Very tart and sour, but not enough to make me pucker. Seems like it would be a good thirst quencher on a hot summer day. I drank the whole 750ml and went to bed shortly thereafter. Crazy dreams man but that may just be me!
So there it is, I've ventured into the dark side or beer and survived! Now I need to go back to the local beer store, and check out Ommegangs Ommegeddon, Rodenbach and Allagash. I dont think I will buy them very often due to cost, but maybe some special occasions will merit spending a bit more money. A big thanks to the folks here who gave me confidence and urged me to go forward!
Eric
I'll begin by saying that the idea of spontaneous fermentation in beer was sparked by the fact that I have 3 gallons of local-grown concord grape wine that was made by spontaneous fermentation. So far so good on the wine, but it got me thinking on how it would turn out in a beer.
After reading some reviews of different beer that were suggested to me by HBT members on ratebeer.com, I was a little bit concerned. Quite a few people on the ratebeer site described an acetic or vinegar taste in a few of the sour beers. I cant stand the smell of vinegar and dont much care for the taste either. Anyway, I decided to try it and here I am!
The beer: Lindemans Gueuze Cuvee Renee. Label says it was bottled in '05. Kinda pricey at $9.99 for a 750mL bottle but about as cheap as a bottle of cheap wine. My first impressions upon opening the bottle were that it smells a little skunky, but not bad. What may be bad is that it reminds me of every Heineken beer I've ever drank(ducks and covers now!)
As much as I was fearing it, it did NOT taste like vinegar at all to me, what a relief!!!! Kind of a champagne like taste, but not bad. Very tart and sour, but not enough to make me pucker. Seems like it would be a good thirst quencher on a hot summer day. I drank the whole 750ml and went to bed shortly thereafter. Crazy dreams man but that may just be me!
So there it is, I've ventured into the dark side or beer and survived! Now I need to go back to the local beer store, and check out Ommegangs Ommegeddon, Rodenbach and Allagash. I dont think I will buy them very often due to cost, but maybe some special occasions will merit spending a bit more money. A big thanks to the folks here who gave me confidence and urged me to go forward!
Eric