Tartare
Bear Republic Brewing Co.

3.63/5  rDev -15.6%
look: 2.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
by GarrettB from Colorado

July 23rd, 2015 - The server at Big Sur Tap House had to warn me that the Tartare is a brutally sour beer, and they were right. Both on the nose and flavor it's a tall glass of cold distilled white vinegar mixed with apple cider vinegar and given some bubbles. Pungent, pucking, powerful and piercing, it has a surprisingly short aftertaste for such a screechingly sour brew.

April 7th, 2015 - Out on the road, we stop at Bear Republic and begin a line of tasters. Starting with the tartare seems risky if it is indeed acidic and replete with tartaric acid, but it also has the lightest ABV of today's spread. Cloudy and calm, it looks almost like a lemonade or a shandy, and the aroma is gentle, and soft. There's lots of gentle banana notes at play, like a baby food flavored with banana, and layered with fruit tart custard and a light lemon merengue. The flavor is spritzy, exploding in the mouth with that sweetened essence of banana. Critically, the sourness is enough to offset any of th muddying effects of the yeast's powerful esters, which makes this both weird and wonderful.

Feb 22, 2018

4.82/5  rDev +12.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
by JBabz from Pennsylvania

This beer is so good, especially if you’re a sour lover. Among the more interesting sours out there, while being highly drinkable. Some vinegar taste up front, but not overwhelming like a lambic might be. The taste quickly changes to a buttery finish, reminiscent of popcorn. It coats the mouth so the taste lingers for a while. Feels decadent and refreshing.

Dec 17, 2017

5/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
by Mindsculptor from Texas

If you like sours, drink this. If you don't know if you like sours, drink this. If you don't like sours, don't drink this.

Jul 07, 2017

4.1/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
by FriedSlug from North Carolina

Funky and super sour beer. Slightly hazy gold beer with a quickly disappearing head. Smells like sour and lactose and peaches. Taste is really sour and funky but in a good way. One of the most sour beers I've had but it is really awesome.

Feb 18, 2017

4/5  rDev -7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by GreesyFizeek from New York

On tap at Griffon Gastropub in Clarence, NY.

This one pours a dark clear orange-ish color, with a very small head, and no lacing.

Smells pretty bracingly tart on the nose, super super lactic, with some lemon, salt, a little bit vinegar, and slight spicing- maybe coriander?

This actually feels a bit more like a gose than a berliner, as I get a bit of saltiness there. There's a slight bit of vinegar, but it's luckily not overwhelming. It's very, very sour, but in a pleasing way. There's a indistinguishable kind of spiced flavor, kind of coriander like, or grassy.

This is light bodied, fairly crisp, with a good level of carbonation.

This isn't the best berliner I've ever had, but it was still quite tasty nonetheless.

Jan 05, 2017

4.02/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
by cbutova from Massachusetts

Foundry, Northampton, MA.

A- Draft pour to a tulip with a clear golden body. No head forms, at all, as the acidity probably destroys any chance of foam being born.

S- Acid. Lactic acid and lemony sours dominate the aroma but with time a slight backing of wheaties and old musty horse backs that up. Slight acetic acid too. Old wine grapes.

T- Intense vinegar and lactic acid opens up the experience and it leads into raw wheat in the finish. Honestly tastes like musty soured wine and salt and vinegar chips, in a good way.

MF- Light to medium bodied and boy is it oily slick; explains the appearance. Medium carbonation and a taste bud stripping finish.

Sour wheaty goodness. Like drinking a horses sweat that was left out in the sun for days.

Sep 20, 2016

4.28/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
by Phil-Fresh from California

A: Sharp sourness with a moderate lemon/coriander aroma.

A: Moderate yellow-straw color, super hazy, light effervescence, with a very thin head that dissipates quickly.

T: Moderately strong sourness, quite clean, with moderate lemon/coriander notes, the beer has a light bready character in the background, lightly dry finish.

M: Light bodied with moderately high carbonation.

O: Delicious; the beer has great lacto sourness with notes of lemon/coriander and a light bready complimentary character. Super refreshing and very easy to drink.

Aug 18, 2016

2.49/5  rDev -42.1%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.25
by Tommo from Massachusetts

After having this on draft tonight, i am shocked how highly it is rated. The smell is of balsamic vinegar, and the taste follows in turn. While this is a very tart beer, it is horrendously acetic and undrinkable

Jun 11, 2016

4.69/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
by Galanis from North Carolina

Exceptional. Light golden, almost straw color. No head after the first few seconds on the initial pour. Smell is not representative of the complexity of this beer. It smells faintly acidic, very lemony.

But the taste! Lemon, yes! But also gardenia and oysters. It's very tart at first sip, with no hint of the complexities to follow. But after the third or forth, when the taste buds stop retreating from the roof of your mouth, you begin to taste the barest hint of saltiness and floral. Half way through, the distinct flavors of oyster and gardenia are very apparent.

I'm not a huge fan of sours, but this is the barometer by which I will measure all others. Simply the best sour I've ever had.

May 12, 2016