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.
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Bellwoods Brewery$35.99
As years passed and our oak aged beer became more robust, we discovered many unique, interesting, single barrels deserving of a special release. Ba...
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Bellwoods Brewery$37.50
At its roots it's a rich, dark ale, but the time it spends in barrels with brett and bacteria harmonizes the ingredients, yielding bright levels of...
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Dollar Bill Brewing$31.99
Golden Sour Ale made from a blend of wild fermented beer and mixed culture ferments. Produced through a solera system maintaining an average age ov...
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Bellwoods Brewery$35.99
A special edition of our classic Farmhouse Saison, this version is a blend of young and old barrels ranging in age from 6 months to 1.5 years. Beca...
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Boatrocker Brewers & Distillers$22.99
Zappa dry hopped 100 year old Foeder Australian Wild Ale… Wow! That was a mouthful! This beer is inspired by the great musician Frank Zappa and a g...
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Boatrocker Brewers & Distillers$22.99
Elderflower 100 year old foeder Australian Wild Ale. The story behind the foeder is an amazing one… Originally from the old Stonyfell Winery in the...
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Future Mountain Brewing And Blending$21.99
Making this beer is just as rewarding as drinking it. On fruiting day, one our brewers drives out to Rayners Orchards in the Yarra Valley to pick u...
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Stomping Ground Brewing Cofrom $8.50
Our Flanders Red Ale was aged in Hanging Rock shiraz and pinot noir barrels giving it a vinous quality, while intertwining its cherry and balsamic ...
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Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.$54.99
For this limited offering we pushed beyond the typical barrel-aged beer theory. We got our hands on some Reposado Tequila oak barrels and then aged...
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Boatrocker Brewers & Distillers$16.99
Since 2013 we have been working with wild yeasts and barrels to develop own unique culture that provides complexity, funk and most importantly - de...
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Boatrocker Brewers & Distillers$22.99
And now for something completely different. We had a gorgeous barrel aged Brett Berliner Weisse sitting in barrel, and 100kg of amazing Kensington ...
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De Struise Brouwers$75.99
Flemish Sour Ale aged for 5 years in Burgundy wine barrels. Cask Strength edition. Due to its authenticity, Earthmonk received as little sugar as p...
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Firestone Walker$36.99
Barrel Ratio: 75% French oak & 25% American Oak Maturation Time: 24 - 42 months Flora: B. lambicus, B. bruxellensis, L. Brevis, L. Delbruecki...
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Future Mountain Brewing And Blending$21.99
The fruited sour beers have been blended from carefully selected 6-9 month old amber sour beer that has been aged in our puncheons (larger barrel)....
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Future Mountain Brewing And Blending$21.99
The 2020 vintage pours a bright red with dissipating white head. Aromatically this beer throws soft brett tones with a touch of oak and a rich drie...
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Firestone Walker$27.99
What began as a birthday gift took on a life of its own. Proprietor David Walker cornered us one day and requested a sour cherry fermented beer for...
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Firestone Walker$27.99
Berliner Weisse Style Wheat Beer Fermented with Tangerines. Microflora: A proprietary blend of Brettanomyces and Lactic Acid Bacteria. Barrel Ratio...
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Firestone Walker$27.99
This liberation begins its journey as DBA then continues through a “chrysalis” process involving 87% French and 13% American Oak barrels, and our p...
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Firestone Walker$27.99
Thirty miles north of Barrelworks lies the fertile Santa Maria Valley. Its warm days and cool marine layer-fed evenings allow for a cornucopia of f...
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Founders Brewing Co.$15.99
We love cocktails. Like, really love them. If you ask us, few are more refreshing than the tart and tangy margarita and our latest barrel-aged b...
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Garage Project$33.99
Barrel-Aged Blended Sour with Golden Kiwifruit, Mango & Passionfruit Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours. With a little understanding...
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De Struise Brouwers$59.99
Dark Horse Reserva is a hybrid dark sour ale, somewhere between a Dirty Horse and an Earthmonk. Spontaneously fermented and aged for 4 years on som...
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Oud Beersel$28.99
Berslais Tripel aged 16 months in Chateauneuf du pape red wine barrels alongside lambic barrels which resulted in a spontaneous fermentation of the...
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Stone Brewing (Arrogant Consortia)$48.99
Have guitar, will travel. Check. Have mash paddle, will travel. Check. Have invitation to Berlin to brew, will travel. Hell yeah. Cue our friend To...
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New Belgium$16.99
The roommate to Felix aged in Apple whiskey barrels this, 100% foeder-aged dark sour was additionally aged and freshly decanted Rocky Mountain Blac...
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Boatrocker Brewers & Distillers$24.99
Back in 2015, we did just one barrel of Sternweisse. Due to popular demand, it's back! So, what is it? It's a double barrel aged Brett Berliner wei...
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The Bruery$39.99
Beret is as artistic as those who wear its namesake cap. Our brewers developed a silky, full-bodied wheat ale which we began fermenting with our ho...
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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 ...
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