Fruited Sours - Opinions Wanted

Cran-bic is one of my favorite beers of all time. It seems that you just don't like it, which is fine - more of it for me!

One possibility is that if you're tasting these beers in South Korea, it's possible that they've suffered in transit.

 

It could be the cranberries they use. I guess youd have to ask a brewers of sorts to see if they lose their dry/tartness in the boil and become more sweet.

 

My beer journey led me to prying caps off some brews that I thought I should try because they were so highly recommended. To discover the allure and understand the nuances, so to speak. 30 years ago I figured out I didn't care for tart beers and as recently as a few days ago found I still don't.

I feel no need to be au courant with currently popular beer styles. The fact I don't like something doesn't mean I'm a knuckle dragging troglodyte unable to recognize the nuances of what's in vogue, perhaps it simply means I don't like the taste of the stuff.

 

I'm not a sour guy, but I liked Cran-bic. Dont know could be a NG thing , but Odu Bruin is pretty damn good too. My wife loves their Apple Ale, it surely not your average Redds crap. The bit of funk is perfect.

 

All of the NG fruit sours are wildly popular (I like all of them), and I kind of look at them as entry-level sours. They are good, but 'tart' may be the better descriptor for them. I don't know what the brewing process might be to make something entry-level vs. wild/funky but I'll guess that less aging time keeps the beer in the mild category.

 

I had a bottle recently and loved it. Strokes for folks.

 

If you don't like a certain beer, nothing that any of us can say will (or at least should) make you change your mind. Telling you to look out for a particular flavor shouldn't make you do a 180 on the beer. I say stick by your convictions, particularly since you already appreciate the style. I haven't had Cran-bic, but there are plenty of highly revered beers that simply don't do it for me, and as long as I give those beers a real chance and understand why I don't love them I think that's absolutely fine.

 

Fruit is rarely (don't think I've ever heard of it at all, much less done it while homebrewing) put in the boil...usually they are added post fermentation, similar to a dry hop.

I have not had the beer in question, but IMO a good sour aged on fruit should still focus on the pucker and allow the fruit to accentuate it with hints in the flavor and possibly aroma. If the fruit is overwhelming, it kind of detracts from the beer IMO, especially if its sweet, but as long as it balances with the pucker being more forward, it doesn't come off as "cheap" or off style to me.

 

A lot of people say that sours lose the malt . They cannot taste malt. The malt should be there for the mouthfeel and present a little flavor too. The fruit should be deep in the beer. Voluptuous. The actual sour or the perception of sour can vary. Ommegang made one that was at the low end Rosetta while some make them much bolder more acidic. you should never taste vinegar. I can think of sours that have age so well, like Ithaca's Le Bleu. I like how the bjcp puts them all under the same style heading. From berliner to fruit lambic . Malt goes from complimentary to prominent.

 

Some styles, like a Gueze are known for a little acetic acid/vinegar though. In American sours though, I agree there shouldn't be much acetic/vinegar as it isn't really to the style of an "American Wild Ale".

 

All of New Glarus's fruit beers are like that. It's their thing to lean more toward sweet than sour or funky and they're really not that complex at all (haven't had Cran-bic but, from how you describe it, it seems like it's the same as the rest I've had). I like them but only when I'm in the mood for a dessert beer. Strawberry Rhubarb's probably my favorite but, in the end, they all do seem to be like slightly more nuanced versions of the Lindeman's stuff.

 

I love Lindemans Framboise fruit lambic. Sweet, sour, delicious raspberry. I dislike sour beers, but love this. I have one of their Kriek (cherry) offerings staged in my fridge for this weekend.

 

Hit the nail on the head. Traded for a Belgian Red and Rasp Tart based on reviews. Was NOT expecting the thick, syrupy mess inside and couldn't finish it (I tried!). Retrospectively reading reviews I found I was not alone (bad research on my part). Never again Belgian Red!

I think you'd be much better off getting a hold of some of their R&D series. Their Vintage (geuze) is phenomenal, and everything I (and i think you would) look for in a sour/wild beer.

 

I haven't had a lot of lambics, but the ones I have had have been more sweet than sour or tart. So I think when speaking of Cran bic (which I thought was great, for the record) in the context of a fruited sour, expectations can be let down. As mentioned before, some of the R&D stuff would be more in line with a fruited sour than Cran bic.

 

Fruit beers (not "sours")
Belgian Red
Raspberry Tart
Serendipity
Strawberry Rhubarb

Fruited Lambic Style:
Cran-bic

Two different styles. Not the same type of beer. If you are expecting lambic type sour beers from the 750 ml fruit beers, you are on the wrong track.

Cran-bic is more on the tart side in comparison to the fruit beers since it is brewed in the tradtional lambic method.

 

FWIW the Lambic (Cran-Bic) is a bit more traditionally sour and tart than their regular (year round) offerings like the Belgian Red/Raspberry Tart (which I can see as being "sweet").

I enjoyed the Cran-bic, it is definitely less syrupy.