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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Brouwerij Omer Vander Ghinstefrom $12.00
The beer Cuv�e des Jacobins is unblended old lambic, aged for at least 18 months in (French) oak barrels from the cognac region. These oak barrels ...
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3 Fonteinen$34.99
58th blend of the 2017-2018 season, screen printed bottle. This particular Oude Kriek has macerated for almost 6 months. The final fruit intensity ...
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Deschutes Brewery$44.99
Fermented for more than 18 months in isolation from the rest of the beers, The Dissident is a distinctive Oud Bruin, Flanders-style brown ale, with...
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Deschutes Brewery$44.99
Fermented for more than 18 months in isolation from the rest of the beers, The Dissident is a distinctive Oud Bruin, Flanders-style brown ale, with...
View full details$44.99Sold out -
Deschutes Brewery$54.99
Fermented for more than 18 months in isolation from the rest of the beers, The Dissident is a distinctive Oud Bruin, Flanders-style brown ale, with...
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Cascade Brewing$39.99
This NW style sour blond ale was barrel aged for 28 months before spending an additional two months on 300+ pounds of Black Cap raspberries: think ...
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New Belgium$19.99
Le Terroir is a French term meaning �Of the Earth.� Used to reference the environmental conditional that affect the brew, we like to think about th...
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Crooked Stave$38.99
Surreal spontaneous sour ale aged in oak barrels Spontaneously fermented in oak barrels, L'Brett d'Or's fermentation is kicked off with the h...
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Almanac Beer Company$22.99
This sour beer is inspired by the Santa Clara Valley’s agricultural roots, before it was known as Silicon Valley, it was called “The Valley of the ...
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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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Almanac Beer Company$24.99
This beer pairs two �blancs�: California-grown Muscat Blanc grapes and German Hallertau Blanc hops. Blended together in wine barrels and large oak ...
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Gueuzerie TilquinNo reviews$51.99
Beer of spontaneous fermentation, the Oude M�re Tilquin � l�Ancienne is made from the fermentation of 350 gr of blackberries by liter of lambic. Un...
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3 Fonteinen$48.99
Oude Kriek 3 Fonteinen is produced by ripening of cherries (both the flesh and the seeds) in young Lambic. This process takes between 6 to 8 months...
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