Sour Banshee
Blue Mountain Brewery

Sour BansheeSour Banshee
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From:
Blue Mountain Brewery
 
Virginia, United States
Style:
Wild Ale
ABV:
7%
Score:
80
Avg:
3.43 | pDev: 16.91%
Reviews:
10
Ratings:
55
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 19, 2018
Added:
Apr 25, 2014
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  12
A pale sour ale of extraordinary balance.

Sour Banshee melds a sharply sour nose with a surprisingly balanced flavor of citrusy hops, light and medium crystal malts and a residual soft taste of bourbon and oak. The base beers hopped with a heavy hand of European and Pacific Northwest whole flower hops, with an addition of Southern Hemisphere hops added during the barrel aging.Then the beer is soured in the barrel for over 9 months, tempering each element with time and alchemy.

30 IBU
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Ratings by bros:

  None found.

Photo of TurboMon_911
Reviewed by TurboMon_911 from New Jersey

4.02/5  rDev +17.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
This was my introduction to sours back in 2014, purchased @ LiquorOutlet in Boonton for $12.99/750 mL. Poured a hazy orangish yellow into a Sam Adams tulip pint glass. Sour aroma with hints of vanilla, molasses and oak. Tastes of grapefruit grassiness up front with a nice tart to sour funky finish. A medium body with nice lacing and head retention. As I let it warm up the characteristics changed a bit and the bourbon characteristics became more apparent. Really like this, but when I went back a few weeks later to buy some more they had already sold out. Wish Blue Mountain would brew it again.
Mar 19, 2018
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.25 by oriolesfan4 from Maryland

Oct 17, 2017
 
Rated: 2.93 by Lucoli from New York

Mar 11, 2016
Photo of tigg924
Reviewed by tigg924 from Massachusetts

3.82/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Pours cloudy bright yellow with one inch head and high carbonation. Taste is grapefruit, light bourbon, and sour mix. Above average tart sipper that I am glad I got. Have others I prefer in the style, but this is good.
Aug 29, 2015
Photo of GarthDanielson
Reviewed by GarthDanielson from Virginia

3.79/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a 750 cork and cage into a tulip, the beer is a slightly hazy, copper-caramel coloring, with a foamy, bubbly, white head. Aromas of white grape must, lemon zest, cut grass, lemon pepper, dill, and woody notes. Flavors are tangy sweet forward, with lemon zest, white grape, white pepper, subtle salty notes, woody spice and highlights, subtle hops bitterness, a subtle acidic character, and a light overtone of bourbon and vanilla. Very light, crisp, and dry bodied, with a citrus and sour aftertaste, heavy on the lemon zest, with hints of white grape, too. The finish is dry, with a lingering sourness. Pretty tasty, refreshing, and pretty interesting.
Jul 18, 2015
Photo of Elsuperjefe
Reviewed by Elsuperjefe from Virginia

2.32/5  rDev -32.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 2.5
I took two sips and I was done. Over bitter and over sour. Nothing really made sense to me. No balance. Having said this... My sister loved it!!! Go figure.
Jun 26, 2015
Photo of DaveBlack
Rated by DaveBlack from Virginia

3.16/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Slightly sour, but no hint of the bourbon at all. Which leaves the beer just kind of sour and uninteresting.
Jun 02, 2015
 
Rated: 3.26 by TrulySlide from Virginia

Apr 28, 2015
Photo of J-Rye
Reviewed by J-Rye from New Jersey

3.99/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I actually liked this one. I bought it on sale for $14.99 for the 750mL. Bought it a couple more times thereafter, as well. At first sip, this was way, way unbalanced, but I gave it some time, a lot of time, to calm down, chill out, and come together. Once it hits its temp point this is a very good beer. The sour comes through and mixes well with the bourbon and maltiness, bringing out some vanilla and molasses tones with the nice sour and funk. Worth the warming wait.
Apr 26, 2015
 
Rated: 3.29 by TomCat11 from Virginia

Apr 13, 2015
 
Rated: 3.33 by Aidan_Stewart from Virginia

Apr 05, 2015
Photo of ohhsnap
Reviewed by ohhsnap from Florida

2.63/5  rDev -23.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75
Really falls flat, and was very disappointing. Advertised around town as an "under-the-radar, brewed-once-funky-sour" that came nowhere near the positive words or price tag. Look, smell, feel are all very mediocre. The overwhelming scent and flavor is oak. Overrides both the wild and the sour components. Subtle hint of sour but this felt more like an ordinary old ale versus a wild or sour or barrel-aged anything. Needs a lot of work.
Mar 22, 2015
 
Rated: 3.25 by mikeincharleston from North Carolina

Mar 15, 2015
Photo of sweetcell
Reviewed by sweetcell from Maryland

3.95/5  rDev +15.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
as a sour, this beer is disappointing. there was some hints of tartness in there but pretty subtle. perhaps this beer needs aging for the bugs to do their thing (there are dregs in the bottle so i would assume that it contains live bugs).

however, as a bourbon barrel aged belgian'ish ale, its damn good. the mild sourness works really well with the bourbon character.

i will be picking up more bottles of this. it's very nice fresh but i'll age at least one bottle to see if the sourness increases.

EDIT: i contacted Blue Mountain to ask them about the beer, and apparently cellaring won't do much (at least not as much as expected). they wrote:

"Sour Banshee is an unpasteurized, unfiltered pale American Wild ale. The base beer is introduced to oak barrels during which time the naturally occurring lactobacillus do their thing. After bottling the lactobacillus will remain viable for a short time, continuing to produce lactic acid and CO2. This will continue until the residual sugars upon which they thrive are consumed. In addition, this beer is dry hopped pretty heavily in the barrel and the resulting hop acids seem to retard the growth/proliferation of the lacto a bit.

The finished product you have in your cellar will age/develop over time, however little will be due to the remaining lactobacillus. There just won't be many viable bugs left. "
Mar 11, 2015
 
Rated: 3.44 by Rmbr2 from Virginia

Mar 11, 2015
 
Rated: 4.04 by briancathy from Virginia

Mar 09, 2015
 
Rated: 3.41 by MenardMa from Connecticut

Mar 09, 2015
Photo of Daniellobo
Reviewed by Daniellobo from District of Columbia

4.09/5  rDev +19.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Rich sour and bourbon barrel aging combo.

Presentation: 750 ml corked and caged brown bottle. Front label with a purple background and two splashes of dark pink over the double outline of the name. Side notes describe the ale, main brewing process, and brewery profile. Cork shows bb Nov 2015, and bottle details 30 IBUs , 16.5 plato OG, and 7% Alc. by Vol. Served in a Cantillon tasting glass.

A - Deep amber to pale amber pour. Fairly clear with some sediment haziness as one progresses through the bottle. Rich creamy head, with sturdy retention, nice surface memory and lacing.

S - The nose offers a pleasing sourness coated with vanilla and bourbony oak. The barrel shines the longer but retains a very stimulating sour freshness. Hints of grass, and citrus punctuate the range.

T - Nice sourness, some straw and grapefruit with a hint of funk. The sourness is firm but not overwhelming and gives way to a clear vanilla, and oak range with a distinct hint of bourbon.

M - Medium body with moderate carbonation. It has a nice tingle to it, but it feels quite creamy, the dash of sourness lingers under the sweet barrel, and brings back a note in the finish.

O - Nice offering: the sour aging in the bourbon barrel works more as a rhythm than as a blend. And that is fine…

Notes: It sure is an interesting and somewhat predictable twist for a US sour: bourbon barrel! And it works, it is particular, with distinct nuances. I kind of like it. The bourbon/sour shines more harmonically in the nose… It is unusual but it syncs. The flavor maybe does not move as remarkably, but there is a nice bourbon finish to the sourness that weaves it back together very efficiently.
Mar 06, 2015
Photo of norwayjose
Rated by norwayjose from Virginia

4.03/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottled. Nice sour flavor tempered by bourbon barrel aging which lends some sweetness and depth.
Mar 05, 2015
 
Rated: 3.45 by VeganUndead from Virginia

Mar 04, 2015
Sour Banshee from Blue Mountain Brewery
Beer rating: 80 out of 100 with 55 ratings