what types of beer are good to sour?

[amber-ale]

Hi

I have just started exploring the world of sour beers
.. I have made one batch, a sour cream ale which seems good, and wold like to make another (different) batch.

What types/flavours of beer are appropriate to sour (specifically lacto souring)? Does it have to be light beers? What about red/amber/brown ales?

thanks
amber-ale

 

[twistedjosh]

You can sour just about anything, but sour and roasty / acrid tend not to compliment each other in my opinion

 

[Aristotelian]

You should try some commercial examples. Jolly Pumpkin and Bruery have some darker sours that I can get in my local high end grocery store. The only thing you can't do is highly hopped styles because hops inhibit souring.

 

[jfolks]

Basic blonde and red grists are the way to go

 

[oli-aus]

Bitterness and sourness clash (is the general consensus) so keep ibus quite low

 

[coypoo]

Reds and browns are doable, but those usually are "malty" and don't possess any "roasty" flavors that have been mentioned above to pair poorly in sours

 

[gometz]

I soured a finished hefeweizen once, came out really nice (and clear from the aging). Just keep the IBU low.

Depending on what strain of bacteria you use, you may need to add some flaked grains as well. I know for my mix of bugs and critters I normally use 10-15% flaked wheat/oats/rye to keep the body nice and full.

 

[Bottoms_Up]

I would recommend reading "American Sour Beers" by Michael Tonsmeire. He has made great beers with numerous styles such as English brown ale, porter, imperial stout, old ale, wee heavy, biere de garde, wit, Belgian pale ale, saison, Belgian blond ale, dubbel, tripel, quadrupel and gruit. He says that the only beers to avoid souring are those that are aggressively bitter, roasted, spiced, or smoked.

Continental Pilsner malt is the most traditional base for sour beer production because of its clean grainy flavor that allow the specialty malts and microbes to express themselves. American pale two-row malt is another good choice, and Munich malt is ideal for darker sour beers.

In terms of hops, for a beer with Brettanomyces, but not lactic acid bacteria, the wort can be as bitter as you like, but remember that dryness accentuates bitterness. Target bitterness for sour beers should generally range between 10 and 15 IBUs. In cases where you want Lactobacillus activity, unless you know your strain is hop tolerant, aim for 5 IBUs or less. Aged hops are often used.

There are numerous additional tips in this book.

 

[Ceaver]

FWIW, you can do a sour IPA. Epic brewing does one, it's quite good, in terms of bitter and aroma. It is kettle soured with lacto, as opposed to mash soured, which better allows you to add hops, from what I understand. I haven't done a sour yet, but as a hophead, the sour IPA will be the first one I try...

 

[JediJoel]

Do you literally mean sour beers? Or are you using sour as a category for non-traditional fermentation such as brettanomyces and others?

If you are asking about using yeast other than tradional brewers yeast in beers, that opens up a lot of options. Brett can have a tart quality, but because it's not straight sour like lacto it can go in a number of styles such as IPAs. I think that the brett funk mixed with the hop bitterness can be quite good.

Also, reading American Sour Beers is worth it if you want to invest in brewing with more than traditional brewers yeast.

Here's a blog post about a 100% Brett IPA Michael Tonsmeire brewed

Hi

I have just started exploring the world of sour beers
.. I have made one batch, a sour cream ale which seems good, and wold like to make another (different) batch.

What types/flavours of beer are appropriate to sour (specifically lacto souring)? Does it have to be light beers? What about red/amber/brown ales?

thanks
amber-ale

 

[deadwolfbones]

I brewed a sour stout last night that I can't wait to try... in like 20 months when it's finally ready.

https://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/blackberry-sour-stout