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Richmond Opening Hours: Monday CLOSED, Tuesday-Thursday MIDDAY - 7PM, Friday & Saturday 11AM-8PM, Sunday MIDDAY-7PM. Parcels dispatched Tues-Friday.
Richmond Opening Hours: Monday CLOSED, Tuesday-Thursday MIDDAY - 7PM, Friday & Saturday 11AM-8PM, Sunday MIDDAY-7PM. Parcels dispatched Tues-Friday.
Sour Beer

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.

  • Garage Project White Mischief 330ml Can
    Garage Project
    from $5.99

    Kettle soured wheat, lightly salted and infused with white peaches - a delicate three way salty, sweet and sour balancing act. A little bit of whit...

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    from $5.99
  • Boon Kriek Mariage Parfait 375ml
    Brouwerij Boon
    $18.99

    Kriek Mariage Parfait is an Old Style Kriek of exceptional excellence. 400 g of wild cherries per litre are fermented together with a strong Lambic...

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    $18.99
  • Anderson Valley Briney Melon Gose 355ml Can
    Anderson Valley
    from $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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    from $6.99
  • Anderson Valley Blood Orange Gose 355ml Can
    Anderson Valley
    from $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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    from $6.99
  • 8 Wired Cucumber Hippy Berliner 440ml Can - Purvis Beer
    8 Wired Brewing Co.
    from $10.50

    Our Hippy Berliner was such a success that we ebbed to consumer demand and brewed a special edition with the addition of cooling cucumber. Bursting...

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    from $10.50
  • Boon Oude Geuze 375ml
    Brouwerij Boon
    $12.99

    Oude Geuze Boon is one of the finest examples of the traditional 100% spontaneous fermentation Lambic style. To moderate the sourness, Boon Brewery...

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    $12.99
  • Boon Kriek 375ml
    Brouwerij Boon
    $11.99

    Kriek Boon is a traditional Belgian Lambic fruit-beer. It is brewed according to the traditional Lambic style of spontaneous fermentation. Only fre...

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    $11.99
  • Boon Framboise 375ml
    Brouwerij Boon
    $18.00

    Raspberry lambic was once a rarity and only produced for a few weeks during the summer. Frank Boon was the first brewer to again prepare a raspberr...

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    $18.00
  • Lindemans Framboise 355ml
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    Lindemans
    $14.50

    A clean natural tasting brew with undertones of fresh raspberries and a wonderful aroma.

    $14.50
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  • Lindemans Gueuze Cuvee Rene 375ml
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    Lindemans
    $16.50

    Gueuze Cuv�e Ren� is one of the jewels of our brewery. With its golden colour, its sparkle and its beautiful sherry aromas, this is the queen of gu...

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    $16.50
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  • Lindemans Gueuze 375ml
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    Lindemans
    $8.99

    There are several stories to explain the origin of the term 'gueuze'. This name dates back to the Rue de Gueuze in Brussels where, for the first ti...

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    $8.99
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  • Lindemans Cassis 355ml
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    Lindemans
    $14.99

    Lindemans Cassis is a lambic made from local barley, unmalted wheat, and wild yeast. After spontaneous fermentation the lambic is aged in oak. Blac...

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    $14.99
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  • Liefmans Kriek Brut 330ml
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    Liefmans
    from $6.99

    This classy beer represents the perfect marriage between the fresh accents and slightly acidic flavour of the black cherries. Liefmans Kriek-Brut i...

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    from $6.99
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  • Lindemans Blossom Gueuze 750ml
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    Lindemans
    $36.99

    Breaking the mold among existing beer styles, Lindemans developed the Botanical Lambics, a collection of old gueuzes with a twist. Second in this s...

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    $36.99
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  • Liefmans Goudenband 330ml
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    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...

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    $7.99
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  • Deschutes The Dissident 2016 Reserve 650ml
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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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    $54.99
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  • Boatrocker Lord Raspberry 500ml
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    Boatrocker Brewers & Distillers
    $29.99

    A blend of 18 to 24 month old lambic style ales aged for a further two months on whole raspberries.Deliciously funky with bright acidity and raspbe...

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    $29.99
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  • Almanac Tangerine de Brettaville 375ml
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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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    $22.99
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  • Almanac Hoppy Sour Mosaic 375ml
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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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    $21.50
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  • 8 Wired Grand Cru 2015 500ml
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    8 Wired Brewing Co.
    $23.99

    Aged on currants and cascara with brettanomyces and pediococcus in Pinot Noir barrels. Then blended into a red wine foedre for further aging.

    $23.99
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  • 3 Fonteinen Oude Kriek 750ml - Purvis Beer
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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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    $48.99
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  • 3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze 750ml
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    3 Fonteinen
    $39.99

    Blend of 1, 2, and 3 year old lambics.A true Geuze - a blend of 1, 2, and 3 year-old lambic, unfiltered and unpasteurized, and aged in the bottle f...

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    $39.99
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