"Beware the kettle sour beer"

interesting article indeed, thanks for sharing

 

Kettle souring is fine (and historically accurate?) for Berliners and Goses and the like, but it should be clearly noted and priced accordingly because as the article rightly states it does not cost as much nor take as much time (further reducing cost) as a proper spontaneously fermented and barrel-aged sour does. It's really easy for a brewer to put out a kettle sour and price it in line with a barrel-aged one to make a quick buck, and that's both disingenuous as well as disappointing to the consumer who is probably expecting complexity.

 

Harumph! I've come to really enjoy these affordable, tart quenchers and am perfectly capable of enjoying them without any lack of appreciation for traditionally 'soured' beer. And I bet I'm not the only one. I went back for many a 4-pack of Weyerbacher Tarte Nouveau this year.

From the article:

Precisely.

Seems like it's time to remind the growing horde of beer snobs to just "Lighten up, Francis".

 

It took me a long time and a lot of money for my wife to discover that she likes sour beers. It took me even more time and money to realize why she didn't like all sour beers. Kettle sours "taste like beer" to her. Unfortunately for my wallet, she is a fan of barrel aged/wild sours.

 

I don't have a problem with kettle sours as long as it's noted and they're priced accordingly.

 

I understand the frustration of a brewer who takes the time. But I would think most of those either predominantly do aged sours and have the proper facilities ....and of course charge accordingly. But let's not impede progress, ingenuity and artistry for strictly tradition. As @TongoRad said above the is plenty of good non traditional examples. Let's face it if it tastes like vomit who the hell is going to drink it Anyway.

 

Retail price is only tangentially controlled by the cost to manufacture. Retail price is almost exclusively determined by what the market will bear. If no one buys it, the price will drop, perhaps to the point no brewery could afford to produce it. Fairness has nothing to do with it.

 

great read!! i love kettle/quick souring (especially as its been noted that it is traditional for some styles!) beer at times, but i cant stand being tricked with the word sour when they went through the quick way. its so misleading!

 

Yeah that's pretty crappy. Does anyone have examples of any beers that fit this category?

 

Death to purists.

 

Below is something I posted in a past thread:

“IMO there are certain sour beer styles that I think kettle souring is an appropriate method. Two styles that come to mind are Berliner Weisse and Gose.”

http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...hout-the-hefty-price-tag.329282/#post-4018613

Cheers!

 

The issue is that the off-notes mentioned can absolutely happen to aged sours, too. Then you're stuck with a bad beer you paid a lot for.

I kinda like how Jason Yester from Trinity responded as well (see his post yesterday): https://www.facebook.com/saisonman

No matter what you think of Trinity, I think he makes a few good points both in both the main post and subsequent discussions. He's a little gruff and combative about it, but that's just kinda how he operates.

 

Such a fine line between kettle souring and just pitching a large Lacto starter at the initiation of primary fermentation, i hardly see a reason to fret. People will buy what they like, and if they like quick kettle sours, more power to them

 

I've like most I've had, too, and like the fact that for maybe 10 bucks I will get 4-6 cans (or bottles) or beer instead of one 375 mL bottle, where at least 10% of the cost to me went into the stupid bottle. I've yet to run into this (from the article):

The only local sour I can think of that smelled and tasted like barf was Crooked Stave's very first batch of Petite Sour (allegedly). Dumpster beers can be made by anyone using any technique. And I also find it ironic that any brewer who buys his wort from another brewery before fermenting and souring it would get all uppity about some other brewer's process.

 

Hopefully there's enough room in the sandbox for both. I've had both "quick" and traditional sour beers and I like them both. At least to my taste buds, they aren't the same thing and I guess technically are not equals. It seems to me that is the issue (classifying two things similarly that are basically unequal) and I do see the points, both as a consumer and from the brewer's point of view. As a consumer, I would expect a "quick" sour to be priced and identified accordingly. I can certainly see where a brewer that expended the time and effort to make a traditionally soured beer, painstakingly fermented, aged, blended would not be pleased if the quick sours were considered to be equal.

I'm no style crusader, but I think in this case there should be some distinction made so people know the difference. Pricing a quick sour the same as a traditionally aged/fermented/blended sour seems wrong to me. To some extent, it's the same old argument - we here in the micro-verse will do the research and know the difference, but most people won't, so who bears the responsibility?

It makes no sense to me to "stamp out" a technique. This is a method we could use at home without much difficulty. Some of our favorite breweries produce beers using this technique. Maybe there's a bright future for an old technique - as more people use it, more people will experiment and tweak it and who knows what will result.

 

IF done correctly Kettle Sours are fine but like others have said I expect it to be noted and priced accordingly.

 

Why should it be labeled and priced accordingly? If you aren't discerning enough to tell the difference, and you'll pay a premium for a sour beer, does it matter if it isn't "authentically" soured?

 

I've met him several times, and in person he's an awesome guy with a shit load of knowledge about beer chemistry (especially as it relates to brett), but online he comes across as being ridiculously full of himself.

 

Indeed. Yester is an enigma. There's actually a theory that he just likes playing the bad guy almost like a professional wrestler. I'm a fan of his beers either way, but I don't know many people who agree with his online persona all of the time. I do agree with him in this instance, though.