Sours: Help for Noobs

my fist was Jacobins, also very vinegar-y..Thats the beer that rocked my sour world so this may not always be the case brotha.

 

Petrus Aged Pale is another great place to start.. Berliner will give you the tartness without being too funky.

 

I believe they're all Berliner weisses and variations thereof. Star of the North, Framboise du Nord, Dawn of Aurora, etc.

 

Allagash Farm to face was very enjoyable IMO. A lot of peach but a bit $ too

 

Actually, Duchesse De Bourgogne and Rodenbach Grand Cru I would say are pretty good first sours as they are easily acquired and not overly expensive.

Of the breath of sours available, I really only like the Flanders styles.

 

If you're new at trying 'sours' I recommend starting with the fruit lambics. You'll get exposed to the tartness from them, and it won't be a shock because you've undoubtedly eaten sour cherries, raspberries, etc. Some even have sweetness to balance the tart. If you're close to the Wisconsin border, go get some of the New Glarus fruit beers. They're great.

 

a fairly accessible berliner weissebier would be Bell's Oarsman. However I cannot recommend it based on taste because I won't know how it tastes until I crack my first one open tonight. This might be a good intro to the style.. or not.. we shall see

 

Loving the suggestions, I've actually tried a New Glarus Cherry beer. It was OK if I recall, didn't really know I was drinking a "sour" though as I've never heard the term until I joined this site

 

Night Shift is probably one of the best places to start with sours!!!

 

except their distribution footprint is quite small and OP is in MN

 

This one doesnt really move the meter for me. Oarsman was my first sour and it is really quite mild and pretty boring overall imo. Not something that I would try as my first or really ever again.

 

Flanders Red and fruit lambics are probably the easiest first steps, followed by berliner weisse and (some) gose--Anderson Valley is a bit heavy on the salt, but it goes quite well with food. If you like those styles then you can kick it up a notch - Petrus Aged Pale is readily available and is a lot more sour, for instance.

 

Crap, I hope I'm not disappointed with this one now.. I got excited about the pricetag

 

Oh, I forgot to mention.... getting into 'sours' will kind of 'sour' your budget too. Go easy.

 

Sometimes.

The American Wild Ale category on here are varied. Some are truly sour and contain low pH levels due to bacterial fermentations and/or acid material additions (acid malt, food grade acids). Some AWA on here are absent of additional acids or acid producing bacteria and contain only Brettanomyces, which produces a wide array of funky, fruity, rustic, complex aroma and flavor compounds.

Here is a pretty comprehensive list of beers that are either truly sour (bacteria + brett) or just funky (brett only). Thanks to @OldSock for his amazing blog and book & broadening the knowledge of this subject.

 

I guess I just don't like flander's sours. The syrupy sweet with the vinager is a big turn off to me.

I didn't get acetobacter from Rodenback Grand Cru. That is a very good beer.

 

They're not really sours per-say, but you do get tartness from the fruit rather than from bacteria which I think is why they suggested it as a starter. Serendipity was a really good beer from what I remember.

 

How much are those beers where you're at? In Colorado they're 5.99$ for a 375ml which I think is reasonable.

 

Trade time, baby! But yeah, you're right.

 

Sorry now that I think about it I probably shouldn't have spoiled your opinion towards it before you actually tried it. Everyone's taste is different but I didn't find it to be all that sour. You can definately notice the sourness but it doesn't follow through. I'd recommend the beliener weisse from bruery or Jacks Abby if available for a first shot at sours. Simple, sour, well made and not too pricey