Sour talk

As an amateur mycologist I stay away from suggesting fungal organisms may grow on me, or anyone.

 

Especially if it comes from a meteor. Lol.

 

I think many do a disservice by labeling beers collectively as "sours" as we do more appropriately for lagers, ales and stout. For one, it really dumbs things down to the most infantile of flavor categories. Two, a brett fermented beer in most cases does not connote sourness. The main star of that beer will likely be the funk. Three, a Flanders Red and and Gose have absolutely no common ground.

When someone says "i'm into sours" I immediately think twat.

 

“By the end of the first six pack, I realized it was a perfect balance to keep the sourness in check.”

You are clearly on the right track, sampling a new beer by the six-er instead of just having one is a great idea. I’ve tried several brews that I thought were okay at first then grew to really like after three or more tries.
American Wild Ales are usually available for a sour style. They can be sour and tart, the barnyard funk needs to be experienced-difficult to describe.

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“I'm going to likely stay away from the more expensive bottles of the styles, which may limit my experience.”

When trying a new style, I highly recommend looking for something that rates as high as possible within your budget. Starting with a cheaper beer could negatively impact your perception of the style and higher price does not always mean high quality.
Try starting a conversation with the some of the members in your region who have reviewed a beer you are interested in, the majority of the folks on this site are eager as hell to offer help/advice.

 

We had a chanterelle quiche last night and I've been fighting a balky belly all day. First time. It was more than likely the multiple glasses of Cotes-du-Rhone, but who knows? It was excellent...

 

Oh I love a good Berliner Weisse...neat.
Show me where I disagreed with you in the past or recant!! Lol.

 

Got ya.

 

TIL I’m a twat. Who’da thunk.

 

OP - I think you've gotten some good advice within the discussion here. Most importantly, IMHO, the difference between sour and Brettanomyces.

As for more of a didactic write up about "sour beers" (does it make me a twat if I put it in quotes???), I might suggest the page at:
http://sourbeerblog.com/sour-beer-primer-flavors/

It's not perfect, but I think it could give you a decent place to start.
Cheers to you on your continuing quest!

 

I am not a fan of extremely sour beers as I just can't see the point in drinking a beer that is as sour as vinegar. The worst I've had was Boulevard Funky Pumpkin, essentially pumpkin vinegar. Then they came out with Funkier pumpkin, which I won't waste my time trying.

I do like tart beers though, where you can pick up other flavors. Specifically I have loved several Fruit Lambics, such as Lindemans Framboise. Some would argue that they're too sweet. My daughter was meeting a date at a taproom and wanted something fruity while she waited, and I texted her that she should try the Lindemans Framboise. She isn't a beer fan, but loved it.

 

I was in Michigan (Grand Rapids) not long ago, and I saw some Tilquin and Girardin 1882 Black Label on a few different shelves. I *highly* recommend you try these beers, as, in my opinion, they are some of the best sours (of any style) that money can buy, and they are the best actually attainable gueuzes that you can buy (yes, better than Drie Fonteinen and Cantillon's standard offerings, in my opinion, which I verified with a few other people in a blind tasting).

You may want to give Lindeman's Cuvée René Gueuze a go first just to get your taste buds acclimated to it (gueuze is not a very approachable, gentle style by any metric), but I think in time you will grow to love many styles of sour, and if you're anything like me, you'll eventually view gueuze as the crown jewel of all sour beers. You should also try some fruited lambics, though the great examples of those are much harder to get. Lindeman's Cuvée René Kriek is a great shelfie, though.

If you haven't, I also advise giving Rodenbach Grand Cru, Rodenbach Alexander, Rodenbach Caractère Rouge, and Rodenbach Vintage 20xx a try. I think Rodenbach's stuff is beyond a shadow of a doubt the best Flanders Red Ales around.

As for Flanders Oud Bruin, New Belgium's La Folie is phenomenal and one of the best examples of the style money can buy.

I think it's important for Gose and Berliner Weisse to try the more traditional examples of the style before trying the American interpretations. Seek out Bayerischer Bahnhof Leipziger or Ritterguts for Gose; you'll find they are much milder in sourness and a bit saltier tasting than most American examples, and, as a result, I find them much, much better as they showcase a lot more balance and nuance (like almost all other German beers). For a classic Berliner, seek out Professor Fritz Briem's 1809 Berliner-Style Weiss or, again, Bayerischer Bahnhof Berliner-Style Weisse

Also experiment with wine barrel-aged saisons, like, as some have suggested, Jolly Pumpkin. If you can trade for some of Hill Farmstead, Jester King, or Sante Adairius's lower end saisons (HF Anna would be my pick, which really doesn't trade that highly anymore), definitely try for those as well. Anchorage saisons are also great, and you may be able to get them on your shelves. Other notable American wilds would be anything from New Glarus, Funk Factory, Russian River, Fonta Flora, Holy Mountain, De Garde, Side Project, American Solera, Beechwood, Casey, Crooked Stave, Oxbow, OEC, Ale Apothecary, and so on (there are many, many more), but most of those will require some serious trading, so you shouldn't start there by any means. That's late game stuff when you already have grown a love for sour.

In closing, as with anything, you might find that all sours just aren't for you. That's perfectly fine. Don't force yourself to like something just because everyone else seems to. You like what you like, don't what you don't, and that's totally fine. I think there's value in always challenging your palate with new, occasionally difficult styles and beers, but there may come a point when you find a style that just does nothing for you or outright puts you off, and no matter what style it is, it's just fine to dislike it on a personal level (just please don't say it's a "bad" style, whatever it ends up being, as there are no objectively bad styles, not even American Adjunct Lager).

Happy puckering!

 

Belgian lambics are still on a class of their own, barring some few exceptions in the international market. As far as American Wilds and wild saisons, I think De Garde, Side Project, Sante Adairius, Hill Farmstead, and Crooked Stave are some of the best sour makers in the country. Hard to get.

I also don't care about kettle sours, which I find boring as Hell, barring a few exceptions.

Try to grab a belgian gueuze. Boon is the best bang for the buck, imo.

 

Nice. Not the balky belly, lol, the chants. Yeah, chants, and many edible wild mushrooms (esp. morels) Cote du Rhone, or even more so wild ales and sour beers, can get you if you get carried away and overeat/drink them. I have a friend who gave up chants permanently after a three day digestive issues bout from overeating. I am immune mostly to that, and have had lots of chants and trumpets every day for last three weeks.

I do watch it with sour beers, though, not immune to that, and I suggest that OP not go as crazy as I have done at times in past.

 

Sure, if you're talking to an audience who understands the differences.

But to the general public and IPA only drinker, it's extremely twatty (and off-putting) to say, Yeah, my favorite beers are Chardonnay Barrel Aged Blond Ales with Brettanonyces and Lactobacillus in 1 - 3 year vintage blends with fruit adjuncts.

Sour beers still don't have enough understanding even in an enthusiast site like this, so although I agree with you in principal, we've got some ways to go. I'm okay with people liking "sours". For those who don't like "sours", I'd be happy to dig deeper and propose a potential recommendation.

 

Seems like you enjoy a more complex beer to complement the acidity. If you can find any of Pierre Tilquin's beers, I'd give them a go.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/25923/

As has been mentioned, the other classic lambic producers should be a good fit, as well, even if you can't find Cantillon or Drie Fonteinen.

Yeah, easy to do in the beginning. Lactobacillus is one genera of lactic acid producing bacteria. Brettanomyces, on the other hand, is a genera of yeast, just like "normal" saccharomyces brewers yeast, that produces acetic acid in any environment that has oxygen. The waters get even more muddy when you really get into the exploration of novel yeast strains, as there are boutique yeast that can make lactic acid as well.

Matt's blog is most awesome, as is our very own Mike T. @themadfermentationist.