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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Anderson Valleyfrom $6.99
Born from our passion for experimentation, our Briney Melon Gose boasts a thirst-quenching tartness that is perfectly balanced by subtle watermelon...
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Anderson Valleyfrom $6.99
Our Blood Orange Gose is a tart, refreshing wheat ale that is kettle-soured with lactobacillus and brewed with sea salt and coriander. However, unl...
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Founders Brewing Co.from $7.99
Subtly sour and a little sweet, this ale is a refreshing take on a nearly extinct German style, gose. Watermelon is the highlight of this lightly-h...
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Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.from $5.50
We combined the classic flavors of lime and blue agave nectar in a tart gose-style beer for the ultimate answer to the heavy heat of the day. The b...
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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
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 ...
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Anchorage$28.99
�Collaboration with my friend Ron Jeffries from Jolly Pumpkin". Brewed with Hoonah Alaska Sea Salt. Hand made by Jeff Chelmo. Fermented with wild A...
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Hermitage$21.99
Sour Ale brewed with Cranberry and Peach aged in American and French Oak wine bearrels. A blend of 18-36 month old blonde ale, fermented with Brett...
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Hermitage$21.99
Our Flower Sour is a funky blonde ale, aged for 18-24 months in our French oak barrels and flavored with an assortment of flowers including rose, h...
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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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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...
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Almanac Beer Company$22.99
Tangerine de Brettaville celebrates the flavors of citrus in beer. We start by brewing a funky brettanomyces fermented base beer in large oak foed...
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Almanac Beer Company$21.50
We love Mosaic hops. Originating from the Pacific Northwest, these American-grown hops explode with aromas of ripe mango, pineapple, and tangerine....
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