Widely Available Sours That Won't Empty My Wallet

Lindeman's Gueuze Cuvee Rene

Edit: If you don't like artificial sweeteners, avoid the rest of their products.

 

I always stock duchesse. It is a fantastic beer that I think is reasonable on the wallet.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/641/1745/

I usually always try to have some Gose on hand as well, usually not that expensive. If you can get Westbrook or Anderson Valley you should be good.

I also second Lindeman's.

 

I have recently(late summer) fallen into the sour craze as well. Unfortunately I share your pain. West Michigan does not see a great distribution of good well priced sours. I agree that the Bruery ones that you mentioned are great but around $20 a bottle is quite pricey.
Unfortunately I got spoiled as the wife and I made a trip to Austin TX in late August. I thought the everyday sours that Jester King had were very good and reasonably priced at $8-$14/750ml. Problem is they are kind of hard to get here though I did make a trade contact while there. He has kept me well stocked with their shelfies since then but there is the surcharge for shipping.
Jolly Pumpkin recently started bottling some of their stuff in 375ml bottles I believe but those around $10 and I think you should be able to get those depending on what area of MD your in.

 

Depending on where you live, New Belgium's La Folie and Le Terroir can be found for as little as $10-12. While not exactly cheap, that's not bad.
Some of the Hanssens and Boon bottles aren't too far off from that price range either.

 

Lindeman's Gueuze Cuvee Rene, Jolly Pumpkin La Roja and anything Rodenbach/Duchesse/Monk's Cafe are really your only options for "budget sour." And unfortunately Jolly Pumpkin's prices seem to have steadily increased the last few years.

 

Cuvee des Jacobins Rouge is pretty easily obtainable and won't break the bank.

 

I would just accept that you are going to be paying $20/bottle. Then when you see Cascade Elderberry or Apricot on the shelves and you purchase it for 30$ it doesn't seem that bad. Then when the rare sours hit (De Cam, RR, Loons, V&W, BFM) your wallet won't be happy that day but your cellar and taste buds will be!

 

Petrus Aged Pale, though relatively mild, is solid and I can usually find it for between $3 and $4 a bottle.

 

Yeah, any Goses should be fairly cheap. Westbrook doesn't distribute to most places, but where they do, it should be available in abundance. Westbrook Gose 6-packs go for around $14-$16 here in NY.

Anderson Valley Kimmie, Yink, and Holy is definitely a step below, but still tasty. That should be far easier to get.

 

Petrus Aged Pale is my favorite.

 

La Folie can be had here in DE for around 15 at times. I do love this sour and this now defines my upper limit in price. Even then, it is a special occasion.

 

Petrus Aged Pale is my recommendation. It's around $5 per 330 ml bottle near me. Still not cheap but pretty reasonable and I find it sour enough to satisfy. Duchesse and Cuvee des Jacobins are around the same price and also excellent. It's nice to be able to grab a single serving for $5/6 bucks vs. committing to a $10-20 750 ml.

 

Sadly, in Colorado all of their sours are $16-18...which sounds crazy. That said, I still buy them and at least they're easy to find. I think their top-end sours are as good as any in the world, and they're still cheaper than many Belgians.

 

The Bruery does make a tasty Berliner that wont break your budget "Hottenroth". I believe it usually goes for about 10-15 bucks: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16866/43889/

 

And $20 at New Belgium's brewery unfortunately. Can't believe some people are seeing it for $12 at retail...

 

Cuvee Des Jacobins is $20/4 pack, which comes out to less than most sours, and I find it to be a step above Rodenbach and Duchesse. Jacobins is an amazing beer. Lindeman's Cuvee Rene and Petrus Aged Pale are good recommendations too. On an even cheaper level, I've seen Rodenbach Classic for $14/6 pack, which is a great price, but it's a very mild tasting beer and doesn't satisfy my craving for sour, wild beer all that well.

 

Monk's cafe is definitely the cheapest widely available I've found. Jack's Abby's growler fills are pretty affordable, but not widely available.

 

Jack's Abby sours have been one of my very few disappointments from that brewery. But I'm not a big fan of Berliner Weisse.

 

There has been a lot of back and forth about that in the Mountain forum and NB claims that the issue goes back to a "barcode mishap" that caused the bottles to be priced too low in some markets. They fixed the glitch in CO and other states. Not sure I buy that considering that those states are still priced much lower 3 years later. The brewery price is always higher, though. That's intentional as they don't want to undercut the local distro stores. If you see a beer for $20 at NB, you can find the same one for $17 at Wilbur's down the street.