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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Parish Brewing Co.$11.50
Rich, dark wine grapes with bright fruit tones overlap with complex black currant, and a sweet sour base. Intense and flavorful, this juicy sour ha...
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Firestone Walker$27.99
Imagine yourself in Berlin’s Tiergarten enjoying this refreshing Berliner Weisse inspired beer on a warm summer’s day. Bretta Weisse honors the tra...
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Firestone Walker$23.99
Collaboration with Liefmans An unmistakable family of aromas are present; toasted brown sugar and soft textures of red fruit characteristic of the...
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Cascade Brewing$34.99
Vitis Noble, meaning noble vine, features sour wheat and blond ales aged in oaks barrels for up to 16 months with Willamette Valley grown chardonna...
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Cascade Brewing$33.99
To celebrate the harvest season, we are excited to offer our interpretation of “graff,” a relatively obscure beer-cider hyrbrid. Harvest Graff is a...
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Cascade Brewing$33.99
Made in collaboration with our friends at Burial Beer Company in Asheville, NC, Chêne des Fous (shen de-FOO), meaning “Oak of the Fools,” is a blen...
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Cascade Brewing$32.99
Pear Mary is a blend of sour blond ales aged in oak wine barrels then fermented with juice from Northwest-grown pears and infused with fresh rosema...
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Cascade Brewing$36.99
Framblanc is a blend of sour blond ales aged for up to 14 months in oak wine barrels with more than 3,500 pounds of white raspberries. Fresh aromas...
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Cascade Brewing$37.99
Primordial Noir is a blend of imperial red ales aged in bourbon and wine barrels for up to two years with Northwest-grown Bing cherries and spices....
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Cascade Brewing$36.99
A careful blending of select barrels of Flanders Reds and soured Belgian Triples aged in oak for up to 18 months. Then blended with fresh 25° Plat...
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Cascade Brewing$37.99
Behold the return of Vlad the Imp Aler, one of the most iconic projects in our 20-year history of brewing and blending sour beer. A combination of ...
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Cascade Brewing$38.99
An outbreak of “the Plague” is upon us with this 2017 release! Bourbonic Plague features sour imperial porters aged in Bourbon and wine barrels for...
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Cascade Brewing$34.99
Based on a collaboration recipe originally designed with our friends at Bruery Terreux®, the 2017 One Way Or Another combines whole, Northwest-grow...
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Cascade Brewing$34.99
This NW style sour ale consists of various blond ales that were barrel aged up to 12 months, then additionally aged for eight to 12 months on raspb...
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Cascade Brewing$34.99
Celebrating Portland’s reputation as the City of Roses, we are pleased to offer Rose City Sour, a blend of wheat and blond ales aged in oak wine ba...
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Cascade Brewing$34.99
A blend of wheat and blond ales aged in oak wine barrels for up to 18 months with black and red raspberries, fresh ginger and thyme. This unique pr...
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Cascade Brewing$34.99
This Northwest sour ale is a blend of blond ales that were aged in oak wine barrels for up to 14 months with more than 13,000 pounds of fresh apric...
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Jester King$59.99
We're excited to introduce Cerveza Sin Frontera, a three part collaboration between Jester King, Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project in Denver, Colo...
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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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Alesong Brewing & Blending$39.99
A rustic autumn farmhouse ale aged in oak for 18 months then refermented on a blend of three different cider apples from Detering Orchards...
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The Bruery$48.99
Roasty notes and aromas balance perfectly with carefully-conditioned tartness in this barrel-aged sour stout. Aged in experienced oak barrels t...
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The Bruery$48.99
The balance of opposites proves delicious in this oak barrel-aged sour blonde ale. Brewed with bright raspberries and fresh rhubarb, this ale serve...
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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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Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.from $6.50
This slightly sour Wild Little Thing has just the right smack of tartness for serious refreshment, while guava, hibiscus and strawberry lend fruity...
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Cascade Brewing$44.99
Sang Royal is a blend of double red ales aged in oak barrels and foudres for up to 22 months with Pinot Noir grapes from Oregon�s famed Willamette ...
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Stillwater Artisanal$18.99
Our Collab with our friends at Stillwater is a Dry Hopped Sour with Milk Sugar, Mosaic Hops, and conditioned on Raspberries. This beer is perfect f...
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AleSmith Brewing Companyfrom $6.99
This deliciously fruity creation combines the sweetness of raspberries with a bright tartness and refreshing drinkability, all within 120 calories ...
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Evil Twin Brewing$9.99
Nomads; constantly moving, 'round and 'round; sometimes settle, if just for a bit.Perhaps the muse moves one to brew a sharp and clean session beer...
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The Bruery$17.99
Sourrento is a sour ale that was inspired by the lemon flavored spirit, Limoncello, which hails from the city of Sorrento, Italy. To create this un...
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The Bruery$18.99
We�ve all come to know and love our 40% rye malt, barrel aged sour ale, Sour in the Rye. Now it�s time to enjoy that very same beer, but with fresh...
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The Bruery$17.99
The return of our first ever blueberry sour blonde ale, and we couldn't be happier with the result. We kept adding fruit to our barrel-aged sour bl...
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The Bruery$18.99
A collaboration that honors tradition, driven by innovation. This wild ale blends the boundaries between beer and cider, showcasing the flavors of ...
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Alvarado Street$16.99
Going back to the schoolyard with this PB&J inspired Kettle Sour. Loads of Concord grape, as well as medium and dark roasted peanut flour, comb...
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Prairie Artisan Alesfrom $8.50
Summer forward sour ale with raspberry, pineapple and orange.Do yourself a favor and toss one in the cooler on your way to the pool or river, you d...
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