Sour Beer
Sour has an intentionally acidic, tart or sour taste. The most common sour beer styles are Belgian: lambics, gueuze and Flanders red ale.
At one time, all beers were sour to some degree. As pure yeast cultures were not available, the starter used from one batch to another usually contained some wild yeast and bacteria. Unlike modern brewing, which is done in a sterile environment to guard against the intrusion of wild yeast, sour beers are made by intentionally allowing wild yeast strains or bacteria into the brew. Traditionally, Belgian brewers allowed wild yeast to enter the brew naturally through the barrels or during the cooling of the wort in a Koelschip open to the outside air – an unpredictable process that many modern brewers avoid.
The most common agents used to intentionally sour beer are Lactobacillus, Brettanomyces and Pediococcus. Another method for achieving a tart flavor is adding fruit during the aging process to spur a secondary fermentation or contribute microbes present on the fruit's skin.
Because of the uncertainty involved in using wild yeast, the sour beer brewing process is extremely unpredictable. The beer takes months to ferment and can take years to mature.
-
Rodenbachfrom $10.00
A blend of 1/3 young beer and 2/3 of beer aged 2 years in large oak vats. The more important proportion of oak matured beer contributes to its frui...
View full detailsfrom $10.00Sale -
Crooked Stave$62.99
Dark sour ale aged in Leopold Bros whiskey barrels with Colorado sour cherries.A demonic dark sour, Nightmare on Brett takes on many facets during ...
View full details$62.99Sold out -
Almanac Beer Company$24.99
Vanilla Cherry Dogpatch takes everything you love about our regular Dogpatch Sour and turns it up to 11. We started with our base red sour ale and ...
View full details$24.99Sold out -
Rodenbach$38.99
Rodenbach Vintage is the unique result of selection by our Rodenbach brew masters, the barrel after two years of maturation has produced the best b...
View full details$38.99Sold out -
Rodenbach$41.99
The brewer allow the beer to macerate with fresh cherries, raspberries and cranberries. After this maceration in oak, the beer re-ferments in the b...
View full details$41.99Sold out -
Liefmans$7.99
Infinitely complex in aroma and flavor with notes of maltiness and tartness throughout. An unsurpassed old brown with the richness and complexity o...
View full details$7.99Sold out -
Deschutes Brewery$54.99
Introducing our wildest brew yet, The Dissident 2016 is a distinctive Belgian-style brown ale. Fermented with wild yeast, we have to isolate this b...
View full details$54.99Sold out