Best/Most Cost Effective Sour Beer

New Belgium Lips of Faith Series. Le Terroir, Dry Hoped Sour Ale....10.99

 

It's highly unlikely we will see Wild Sour anytime soon, as it took 1.5 years to make the first batch. I haven't heard any rumors that they have any sitting in barrels right now, though you never know considering the new sour facility they are putting in.

 

I'm just getting into sours as well so I don't know how these stack up against others but the Wicked Weed sours that they have been releasing lately I think are very good.

I think they are only available in NC so unless you come down or trade I don't think you will see them.

 

BTW, there is no difficulty brewing these beers safely. No known pathogen can survive in beer. "Correctly" (or even "well") is another story.

If you find a way to enjoy the best of these cheaply, let me know! The only thing I can think of is buy a bunch now and age them in the cellar for 8-10 years. Leave the price stickers on them. When you're ready to drink, you'll be amazed how cheap they were 8-10 years ago!

 

I feel like Berliner Weiss was out by this time last year... Havent seen their IIPA in a while either.

 

Berliners are not that expensive, in general. Gose too..

Rodenbach Grand Cru: $9.99 for 25 oz
Professor Fritz Briem 1809 Berliner Weisse $5.99 for 16.9 oz
Freigeist Abraxxxas Smoked Berliner Weisse $5.99 for 16.9 oz
Dogfish Head Festina Peche $11.99 4-pack
Boon Oude Geuze Mariage Parfait $14.99 for large bottle (not sure size)
Westbrook Gose $12.99 4-pack

I personally would avoid Linderman's Cuvee Renee. Many rave about the value, but I think it sucks. Likewise for Petrus sours.

 

Yeah, that's a good point. I mostly meant that they seem to be trying to do a mix of new Thumbprints along with some of the most popular ones.

 

I won't be up to Wisconsin for another week or two, but as far as I know, Berliner Weiss has hit (it's also the latest on NG's Thumbprint calendar). I think IIPA is a little late this year, but there have been rumors that it should be coming pretty soon. I hope so, as it's one of my all-time favorite IIPAs.

 

Yeah that seems to be the case, Berliner did indeed just hit last week and I'm liking it even better than last years (tastes a bit more sour and carbonated).

 

Oh sweet, I might be up there on Monday

 

This thread is proof positive that genuinely good sour beers cannot be had (easily) for cheap.

The fact that Cuvee Rene has been mentioned six times is baffling to me. I don't know if I had a bad bottle, but when I tried it, hoping for an easily obtainable, reasonably-priced sour, I was completely disappointed. I'd rather pay $9 for a 375 of Tilquin or St. Louis over $5 for a 375 of Cuvee Rene.

Rodenbach is pretty good, but doesn't seem to make it to my neck of the woods. It's also one that isn't good *enough* to be worth the cost savings compared to La Folie.

My best suggestion would probably be Ritterguts Gose. $5 for a 550 mL. And fantastic.

EDIT: Okay, so I'm not completely crazy. Thanks @Harnkus

 

Snapshot, oarsman, petrus pale (not a fan of the red - tastes like cough syrup)

 

Agree with all the above. Also, Green Flash Rayon Vert is a nice summer beer. It's technically a Belgian IPA, but it has some nice sour and funky notes, and it's really cheap and not hard to find.

 

Rodenbach Grand Cru is awesome. IMO, much better than Petrus or Lindemann's and better value as well. Only other sour I(although I've only tried maybe 10-20 tops) though was tastier than Rodenbach's was Allagash's Merveilleux, but that was extremely expensive (like $18 for a 10oz bottle).

 

I'll throw out another vote for Rodenbach Grand Cru. At under $10 a bottle locally, it's hard to beat. Almost impossible for me to buy something like Oude Tart anymore when it's twice the price. There are better sours out there than RGC purely in terms of taste, but for the value, not much comes close.

 

I know in my area of Wisconsin it usually takes a few more weeks, but BAs have reported it in northern Wisc., at the very least. Supposed to be a good batch.

 

Cuvee Rene

 

Rodenbach Grand Cru, Cuvée des Jacobins, Boon, etc...most available at Total Wine and are "cheap".
Best bet for least expensive US Wild yeast brews - Jolly Pumpkin and Saint Somewhere. Cant go wrong with any of them.

But the MOST cost affective way is to brew your own! Maybe not the easiest or quickest but If nothing else, it will actually give you a better appreciation for the style.

 

Rodenbach vintage dated 2011 has been making me pretty happy recently.

 

I keep hearing about Westbrook Gose, I wish I could find it around here, I wanna try a can.