Traditionally, sour beer is made by allowing wild yeast and bacteria to slowly ferment over an extended period of time, often multiple years. The yeast creates alcohol, while the bacteria create acid. Many of these beloved classic styles were made with fruit, adding to the complex flavors created by the mixed culture fermentation. In the past few decades, a technique called “kettle souring” has taken off, which utilizes bacteria to quickly create acid before pitching in standard brewer’s yeast to finish the batch. Not only does this process cut down the time needed to make a sour beer from years to weeks, it also creates a brew that is sure to perplex and impress. With the weather heating up, it’s time to swap out your heavy drafts with lighter, tarter, and more refreshing sours. These crafty cans look as good as they taste. Crack open a refreshing sour beer and kickstart your summer!
This first sour is a great example of how much these techniques have evolved from their simpler roots. A dessert sour ale like this (by Toppling Goliath Brewing Company) is packed with aromas of fresh-cut strawberries and fluffy vanilla cake, all topped with whipped cream. A strikingly sour scent of berries floats above cream, toasted wheat, cider, and grapes as its tall white froth builds on the rim. Sips of sourdough, taffy, and fructose tease the early palate with tepid sweetness; as the undercurrents of lemon, crabapple, and kiwi apply a natural sourness that keeps the beer peppy. This drink is bright, crisp, and refreshing; the beer finishes briskly acidic with a brief aftertaste of burlap and fruit peels lasting slightly beyond a venously tart-closing taste.
The best sours offer a youthful zap of energy, reminiscent of some of the candies we coveted as kids. This summer, 450 North Brewing Company is serving their take on a smoothie ale. This smoothie sour ale with fruity citrus and calamansi brings a slightly tart sour, and a bouquet of fruits. SLUSHY XL Starfish Haze pours a shiny, golden color with a nice, large, lacing, and long-lasting head. The aroma has a nice tartness, hints of lemon, and a nostalgic
Fruity Pebbles fragrance. The flavor balances a bit sour and a bit sweet, with nice candied citrus flavors. Overall, an excellent sweet and tart sour ale that is not overdone, a nice blend of those simple flavors with a great body and many layers. For a sour that is fairly simple, it exceeds the expectation of your typical fruited beer. The taste is balanced and refreshing.
Fruit forward and pleasantly tart, this final Sour Ale illuminates palates with a bright blend of açaí, prickly pear and passionfruit highlighted with a hint of sea salt – an aromatic epiphany. The sour spectrum is tasted with a vivid, white grape, and clementine character as the flavors open up on your first pour. With a hint of winey champagne, hints of apple, and gooseberry follow a vinous pattern while highlighting the moderate acidity that plays out more than tart but not quite sour on the late palate. A hint of peppery bite brings balance as this sale closes.
The truth about sours is that they’re entirely pleasant, and though individual taste varies, the same statement about sours can be made about beer at large: There is a sour out there for everyone. From kettle-soured to spontaneously-fermented to dessert-inspired, sours have swept the nation with fruit-forward knockout punches. For most brewers, flexing their sour prowess means flipping the entire beer-making process on its head. Consider pouring one of these sours (at Mellow Mushroom) if you require a beach beer that hasn’t been excessively hopped but is packed with fruity summer flavor.
-by Maeve Black
