Hey Everyone, On a recent trip to Sonoma County, I got my first exposure to sours and discovered that I love them. I've been meaning to find more back home, but I wanted to see if there were any in particular I should check out that are readily available in Massachusetts or New Hampshire, as I'm not sure where to start. Any recommendations are much appreciated!
I enjoyed the Jack's Abby Berliner Braun quite a bit, pretty unique from other sourish beers I've had. Night Shift makes some fantastic sours.
^2, Nightshift can be hit or miss however there Weiss series seems to be pretty solid. Jacks Berliner Braun is a tasty brew as well. Best bet is to find a good bottle shop like Redstone or Pamplemousse.
I was in Acton Wine and Spirits over the weekend and saw both of those there. I almost picked them up but ended up going with a Coffee and Vanilla BA Framinghammer and a sixer of OC Citra Mantra instead.
Jolly Pumpkin, Allagash, Cisco and Night Shift. Jolly Pumpkin and the Allagash coolships being the best imo.
Sounds like Night Shift is doing great things in this department. Sours futures just went on sale a couple days ago.
I managed to grab a bottle of their Cape Codder Weisse before they ran out and it was really good. I'm on the lookout for more of their sours.
Night Shift stuff is mostly very nice IMO. If you have the time to visit them, their Art series has quite a few interesting things at any given time. A lot of varying opinions, but depending on the year I've found the White Birch Berliner to be quite nice. Cambridge Brewing has a sour fest going on right now or coming up as well. They don't do tons of sours but I've had a tasty one or two from them. Just released a Saison with Brett a week or two ago...
Cisco, Cisco, Cisco, Cisco. Lady of the Woods is among the best few sours I've had. Pechish Woods is loaded with fuzzy peach skins. Monomoy Kriek continues to evade me. Night Shift is another fantastic one, their berliner weisses are ridiculous. Hill Farmstead of course warrants a mention, while in very northern Vermont they are certainly worth the trip.
Also, Cascade will occasionally release some of their bottles in MA. Goose Island also makes some wild ales, such as Juliet and Lolita. You should be able to get Bruery stuff as well, and they specialize in sour. Their Oude Tart and Sour in the Rye were magic. Lost Abbey has sours, but those might be too hard to get out there. We certainly don't see much in northen NJ.
Looks like I have a shopping list to make. I'll have to make some room in the fridge first, though. I still have some Nugget Nectar, Dirtwolf, Mass Rising, and a couple BCBSs to get through. Such a chore...
You definitely want to visit Night Shift. The Bruery Sour in the Rye, Oude Tart, and Reuze are all fairly easy to find. I see cascade at Julios fairly often. I just wish these werent so expensive!
Petrus Aged Pale, Lindermans Cuvee Renee, Tilquin, 3F, Rodenbach and Oud Beersel I can usually find on shelves in Mass. Can't agree more with @WTKeene about Cisco and right now Julio's has Lady of the Woods, Monomoy Kriek AND Pechish Woods on the shelf. Plus you may find some 3F Oude Kriek and if you want to throw down $20 they still have Intense Red.
