A Taste for Sours

I had to take a progressive step into it.. 1809 is very sour.. You may be better off starting with some mild Brett beers such as Boulevard Saison-Brett, or Brux. Also try anything from Anchorage. Galaxy White IPA is pretty easy to find these days. Then migrate to some stuff from Russian River.. Consecration and Temptation are probably the best. It took me some time, but now I find them to be outstanding.

 

For me, sours were not an acquired taste. I had been a modest beer fan, but not super into craft beers yet because every time I went to a beerfest or someone gave me a new beer to try it was a super hoppy IPA (which I don't like). I was at Eagle Rock Brewery when I first moved to california and I ordered a flight of everything they had on tap. The bartender described the beers to me as he poured them and when he got to their Equinox he said "A lot of people don't like this, it is a sour beer." When I tasted it, I was in heaven. It was by far the best beer I had ever had at the time. Since then I have gone deep down the craft beer/sour rabbit hole. For my wife, she had to try a lot of different styles before she found sours that she liked. She likes fruity or vinegary sour beers, but not funky sour beers.

 

It took me a bunch of tries to get into sours. I had taken a slightly different path to beer-vana, starting with stouts when I first started, then IPAs, and much later into Belgian styles. I had tasted several sours at tastings before, but only "got" them when I tried one at Extreme Beer Fest a couple years ago - a Abbaye de Bon Chien that was under a table somewhere. That one was amazing, and mind altering.
You didn;t mention what your current drinking habits are, but don't force yourself to drink something that you may not. Not everyone 'gets' sours, even people who have been in craft beer from the beginning.
Over time, maybe try one or 2 here and there, and maybe you will like them.Also, keep in mind there are several sub-styles to sours, from Bruin to Geuze and Lambic, to Berlinerweisse and Gose.

 

I have a taste for the more balanced sours. I don't like the ones that strip the enamel off your teeth.

Maybe look into sour stouts, goze, and fruited sours. Also look into wild fermentation to get you there.

 

There are two schools of thought regarding getting a taste for sours.

The first school, aka "The Toe Dip", suggests that the best way to get into sours is to start with those that are on the gentler end of the spectrum. Try something a little bit on the sweeter side or something that technically isn't sour itself, but bridges the gap of characteristics between sour beers and non-sour beers, like a Brett-heavy beer. For this approach, I would recommend something that qualifies as sour, but isn't paint-stripping levels of sour. I personally don't think the Brett beer transition approach works because Brett is more funky than sour. Some fruit beers could even be a good transition here, so long as the fruit used is sufficiently tart--it won't be sour like beer that has been soured with bacteria, but the natural tartness of fruits like strawberry, raspberry, blackberry will potentially train your tastebuds to become more accustomed to that acidity. Some ideas for this approach:

• Liefman's Cuvee Brut (technically not listed as sour here, but it definitely has sour roots)
  
• Petrus Aged Red (MUCH less sour than the Aged Pale)
• Dogfish Head Festina Peche (this is a Berliner Weisse like the 1809 you sampled, but the inclusion of peach really takes the bite off)
• New Belgium Transatlantique Kriek (this one is a blend of a soured red and a non-soured red, so it too is sour without being overpowering)

The second school, aka "The Deep End", suggests that there is no point in easing in--that sour beer will be a shock to most people the first time they try it, and rather than beating around the bush, it's better to just dive in and get a little medieval with your palate until you either become accustomed to the flavor profiles or decide that it's not for you. On this approach, I'd recommend trying styles like gueuze and certain American wild ales or even some Flanders Oud Bruins. Some ideas for this approach:

• Oude Gueuze Tilquin
• St. Louis Fond Tradition Gueuze
• New Belgium La Folie
• Any sour beer from Russian River or The Bruery

My first foray into sours was on a tour of the Cantillon brewery in Brussels, so I'm a staunch believer in the second school of thought. It's an acquired taste anyway, might as well try to get your palate accustomed to it quicker than not. That way, if it just isn't for you, you don't spend a lot of time trying to figure it out.

 

I've tried to warm up to sours several times over the years and just can't do it. I keep hearing the same responses... "oh, you just havent tried the right ones" or "your palate just hasnt fully developed". But I'm gonna go with "they're just not for me".

 

I definitely took the deep end approach. Bought a couple of bottles of La Folie after a tour of New Belgium back in 2009, not realizing exactly what it was. After the first few sips my wife and I were both hooked.

 

A couple older threads worth reading through:
http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/sours-where-do-i-start.85251/
http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/favorite-sours.94844/

 

Ditto. I appreciate the style and it's place in the beer world, but they are very off-putting (to put it mildly). I've tried dozens of them and spent a pretty penny doing so. I just recently decided to call it quits and stop hopelessly trying to force myself to "get them" or even enjoy them.

 

For me, a nice transition into sours was through saisons that have a dry, funky, slightly tart finish. Hill Farmstead Arthur is my favorite to this day, and the beer I credit (fault?) with getting me into sours. Barrel Aged Farmhouse Pale from Oxbow, Allagash Interlude and Confluence, and Goose Island Sofie are good ways to enjoy a beer with tart notes, without drinking a kriek, geuze, lambic, or a Flemmish red.

Basically, saisons with brett.

And +1 to the Festina Peche.

 

I have a similar relation with Sours as I do with Wine.
I'll gladly try any of them, I think they mostly taste pretty good, but at the same time, they taste similar and I can't easily discern many differences, and I'll crave a glass or bottle only a couple times a year.

 

My first sour was Lindmans Cuvée Rene, and though it didn't exactly give me what I was hoping for, I still knew I was hooked when I found myself sniffing the empty bottle for 30 minutes straight. The next one I tried was Cuvée des Jacobins, and I was blown away. As much sourness and I could expect a sour to be, maybe more. Then I discovered Duchess de Bourgogne (another Flanders Red) and since then, my life hasn't been the same!

 

First time I tried them, I knew I liked them. Have a couple friends who didn't the first time and still don't, so not sure if you will ever like them, at least all of them. Probably lucky for you because they are not cheap!

 

To me sours are the emperors new set of clothes. I've tried them with an open mind and just don't see it.

 

Obtain Supplication. Pop cork. Have mind blown.

That is how I developed my taste for sours.

 

First sour I ever had was consecration and its been my favorite style ever since.

 

My first sour was also Petrus to which I also hated. I also ever warned to have sours again. Then I stumbled upon a thing of Red Poppy from Lost Abbey and am now forever in love! It definitely was an perpetual acquiring taste for me and a lot of what previous people have mentioned is the way to pursue.

PSA: just wanted to also mention. When I have sours, I try to have them before I have anything hoppy. To me, even if I eat something salty, drink water, etc... In-between, a sour doesn't taste the same if I have an IPA before it.

 

Is Supplication better than the Cantillon Saint- Gilloise I just had (Don't know, $17.79 a bottle here though)? If it is, maybe we can arrange a trade.

 

I guess the first question to ask is...

Do you like sour fruit?
or
Do you like to add vinegar to your French fries or salad dressing?
or
Do you like sour food/candy?

If you find the above downright disgusting than sours probably aren't for you. Do a little bit of research and read some reviews to see if the descriptions sound appealing to you.

I find that there are 3 basic kinds of sours- ones that are authentically sour- like lemon juice or sour blueberries (1809), "sours" that have a lot of vinegar tones to them (probably like petrus), and "sours" with a very wild/funky live yeast quality to them-these are more "wild ales" than sours but they are still grouped in the sours. Some sours fall into one of these 3 categories, some are a combination of 2 or all 3 of these categories. They also, like any other grouping of beer- are stronger and milder and have different overall flavors.

I like sours and I always have. I didn't have to "build up" to them. I actually don't like some of the "milder" sours because I'm not into an overpowering amount of vinegar flavor.