Sour Golden Ale
Backacre Beermakers

Sour Golden AleSour Golden Ale
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From:
Backacre Beermakers
 
Colorado, United States
Style:
Wild Ale
Ranked #58
ABV:
7.5%
Score:
97
Ranked #669
Avg:
4.38 | pDev: 7.53%
Reviews:
42
Ratings:
361
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jul 03, 2023
Added:
Feb 25, 2013
Wants:
  132
Gots:
  59
This sour golden ale is fermented entirely in oak by a multitude of microorganisms. Barrels of multiple ages are blended for balance, then 100% bottle conditioned to high carbonation. Blends generally have an average barrel age of 18 months, plus 6 months conditioning in the bottle. ABV varies by vintage but is roughly 7.5%.

Blend Dates Distributed Alcohol by Volume Lot Code
1 July 2012 - July 2013 8.5% none
2 August 2013 - March 2014 7.2% none
3 April 2014 - September 2014 7.1% none
4 October 2014 - February 2015 7.6% none
5 March 2015 - July 2015 7.7% none
6 August 2015 - February 2015 7.3% none
7 March 2015 - September 2016 7.3% BL07
8 October 2016 - present 7.2% BL08
9 April 2017 - October 2017 7.2% BL09 Weston, VT
10 November 2017 - March 2018 7.0% BL10 Weston, VT
11 April 2018 - October 2018 7.0% BL11 Weston, VT
12 November 2018 - February 2020 7.0% BL12 Weston, VT
13 March 2020 - July 2021 6.8% BL13 Weston, VT
14 July 2021 - present 7.0% BL14 Weston, VT
15 February 2022 - present. 7.0% BL15 Denver, CO
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Ratings by MattSweatshirt:
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Reviewed by MattSweatshirt from Texas

4.25/5  rDev -3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours a golden body with a small white head that sticks around and sticks on the glass.

First whiff makes me think of lambic. Musty, earth, wood, lemon, stone fruit. Not quite the depth of a lambic beer but really nice.

Musty and fruity on the palate like the nose showed off. Medium bodied with a light tartness and mild carbonation.

A really great beer that almost crosses the line into exceptional territory. Wish I could get this regularly.
Jun 12, 2015
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.5 by paulish from New York

Jul 03, 2023
 
Rated: 4.75 by whatsgoody from Vermont

Jun 28, 2023
 
Rated: 4.08 by westcoastbeerlvr from California

Mar 11, 2023
Photo of Holderness
Reviewed by Holderness from Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Very long time want of mine. Didn't get it while it was still being produced in VT, but was surprised to see a small drop in the Boston area that was brewed at their new Denver location. Appearance is classic golden ale, little haze to speak of and a relatively small white head that doesn't last too long. The aromas and flavors are very similar to the high quality ciders that are produced by, say, Eden or Fable: bright apple-y character (in this case brought on by the yeast esters), a cleanly light tartness, and almost no residual sweetness. Good amount of effervescence. The $30/750ml price I paid is the absolute upper limit of what I'd be willing to pay for this, but it is worth it

90/100
Dec 01, 2022
 
Rated: 5 by UngerWoo from Vermont

Aug 22, 2022
Photo of REVZEB
Reviewed by REVZEB from Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Cloudy golden pour with a white collar. Classic sour golden ale yeast and funk, with light tangerine, white grape, and lemon in nose. Fantastic taste too, sour and acidic citrus but not overly so given the strong yeast and funk, has a hint of earthy spice, lemon, and pear. Feel is yeasty and airy with good funk and must, oak backbone is bright, sourness if refined, beautiful. A throw back golden ale that hits all the right notes.
Jun 02, 2022
 
Rated: 4.47 by Bhubbard34 from Pennsylvania

Mar 10, 2022
Photo of hops_for_thought
Reviewed by hops_for_thought from New York

4.82/5  rDev +10%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Poured from a bottle (blend 13) into a applewine glass

L: pours a highly carbonated (but not a gusher) clear darker golden yellow (srm ~3) with a thick and loud white head that fades after a couple minutes. Tight, quick, and consistent visible carbonation. Basically no head left

S: this is a beautiful, balanced, and light lambic-style nose. Great notes of peach, white grape, light lemon with an undercurrent of barnyard funk and some slight cheesy aged hops character. Oak and earthiness adds great complexity and depth to what's at first a very light aroma. Funk builds as it's warmed in the glass in a solid, balanced way. Slight hay, under-baked bread, uric acid, over-steeped tea

T: jeez, this is just excellent. Follows the nose extremely well, with this fresh pressed apple cider / white grape juice flavor that builds wonderfully in complexity and depth. Those fruit notes from the nose (peach, white grape, tease of lemon) all come through, giving way to those earthier/funkier lambic notes in the middle. Fruit and funk mixes well through the long finish, great acidity throughout. More of that funk as it's warmed, beer evolves nicely in the glass

F: medium- body, medium+/high- carbonation. Very light and effervescent, refreshing, drinkable

O: I am madly in love with this beer. It delivers such light, beautiful fruit character with balanced funk and wonderful acidity. Champagne-esque with some funk
Jun 03, 2021
 
Rated: 4.3 by Jdells09 from New Jersey

Aug 28, 2020
 
Rated: 4.35 by paresis from Massachusetts

Jun 24, 2020
 
Rated: 4 by pepesylvia from Pennsylvania

May 14, 2020
 
Rated: 4.39 by SadMachine from New Jersey

Mar 13, 2020
 
Rated: 3.89 by Mikexw from New York

Feb 28, 2020
 
Rated: 4.63 by edthehead from Maryland

Oct 20, 2019
Photo of brother_rebus
Reviewed by brother_rebus from Maine

4.56/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
B12 bottle cracked 9/6/19 in a snifter:

Deep ureic clear golden with some bubbles rising.

Complex and peculiar smell. Sone spice. Some earth. Tart. Dander. Oak.

Very oak. Tart n sour but more citrus than acetic. Lightest hop hint.

Feels great. Fizzy entry on the tongue. Pretty full body. Nice and smooth withiut a hint of 7-8%. Pale and subdued carb off the back.

Overall very impressive and balanced beer. Will try 2nd bottle in a year or so.
Sep 07, 2019
 
Rated: 4.35 by Duncian from Pennsylvania

Aug 08, 2019
 
Rated: 4.42 by Vivs85 from New York

Jul 07, 2019
 
Rated: 4.5 by Griffith from Connecticut

Apr 24, 2019
Photo of TheGent
Reviewed by TheGent from New Jersey

4/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Backacre Sour Golden Ale

Look: Translucent, crystal clear golden straw color. This beer looks like apple juice. Some bubbles streaming toward the top. A foamy bone white head falls as quickly as it rises, leaving zero head and lacing.

Smell: Granny Smith apple, less apple cider, and even less apple cider vinegar. I don’t want to give the impression that this beer is anywhere close to being overly acetic. But there are hints of that profile. Peach, apricot, pear, lemon juice. Herbal notes including lemon grass, bay leaf. A slight must. Mostly fruity, some floral notes and some earth.

Taste: This beer is acidic. At first I thought it was dry, but as I drink it more it seems less dry to me. Apple cider, apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, lemon juice, Granny Smith apple skin, white peach, purple/tart blueberry, white grape, grapefruit juice and pith.

Mouthfeel: Low carbonation but bubbly enough.

Overall: This is a very nice beer. As far as barrel aged golden sour ales go, its got more of an apple cider aspect to it then I’m used to. I like that flavor, and it makes the beer stand out. Is it the most complex beer in this style I’ve had? No, if that’s what your looking for. When I say cider I’m thinking along the lines of something like Domaine Dupont. It’s fruity, floral and somewhat earthy.
Mar 11, 2019
Sour Golden Ale from Backacre Beermakers
Beer rating: 97 out of 100 with 361 ratings