Sour beer, post a good example.

I agree with that somewhat, but for a beer that sits on shelves this much you would think they would lower the prices a bit. $30 to $50 for a shelf turd is pretty steep, especially when limited release beers go for around $20-30.

 

Yeah, I see that to, they could probably knock a few bucks off that tag and sell a lot more. I may give one a shot at some point though

 

Allagash makes some beers in their coolship that are outstanding.

I lucked into showing up there on a Resurgam release day. One of the best beers I've ever had.

 

Russian River
Side Project
de Garde
Firestone Walker

 

Yea they are not "turds" by any means but they have priced them selves out of the current market IMO.

 

Another vote for Bruery sours, Sour in the Rye especially.
Also, a few good Berliners that might be available in that area:
Bells Oarsman
Evil Twin Nomader Weisse
DFH Festina Peche

I'm not sure about all the distro on those, but I'd hope that you could find at least one of 'em.

Happy hunting & good luck!

 

Anything from DeGarde will blow your mind. Sour and fruity. Side Projected fruited sours are also an amazing example of the style. Yes, harder to find, well worth the effort.

 

cuvee des jacobins rouge is great for being reasonably available and inexpensive

 

Slightly sour Bell's Oarsman
more sour Rhodenbach grand cru or Victory Kirsch Gose
very sour New belgium La Folie

 

I hope this is tongue in cheek! Hanssens Geueze is one of the most intensely funky beers i've ever had.

I would say base Rodenbach would be a great introduction to sour beer.

 

Russian River is what got me into sours. I suggest making the trip up there sometime.

 

I personally HATED Duchesse de Bourgogne. I thought it tasted exactly like Red Wine Vinegar. Felt like I should be putting it on a salad rather than drinking it

Anyways, here's a few off the top of my head that are worth trying:

- Sour Monkey by Victory is a great sour to start with in my opinion.
- Avery makes some great sours. I've enjoyed almost all of the Barrel-Aged Series, especially Insula Multos Collibus. Their Raspberry Sour was fantastic as well.
- Any of the Wild Sour Series by DESTIHL Brewery are awesome (I believe they're only distributed throughout Illinois unfortunately)
- Cuvee Des Jacobins Rouge by Omer Vander Ghinste. Reminds me a lot of Insula Multos Collibus.
- The Bruery makes awesome sours, like other members had mentioned.
- I've heard Russian River sours are outstanding, which I have yet to try

Cheers!

 

Victory Sour Monkey

 

I can't agree with the above poster about Duchesse de Bourgogne. I think Duchesse is the sour beer everyone has to try. It has wide distribution and should easy to find compared to many of the suggestions here too. Unfortunately sour beers are very niche.

I think a gose or berlinerweisse style would be really nice and refreshing in hot Mexico weather, so I would seek out an example of those, but I'm not familiar enough with the San Diego beer scene or what beers are distributed there to suggest specific examples.

 

Duchesse (from tap) was phenomenal....

Tart of Darkness is the pinnacle....best of this style I have ever had (and have only had the pleasure, once)

when you pop yours...you will not be disappointed

 

the smell of mine (from tap)...definitely had that aroma...but I did not see it as a negative (my partner, however, did)

 

Bruery's Hottenroth should be out in the area when you're there. It's a Berliner weisse.

 

As others have mentioned, depends on what sort of "sour" you are looking for......berliner, gose, lambics, etc etc

I am digging the re-booted Sixpoint Jammer 2.0 right now....just a hint more tart than the originall, and had a Berliner from a brewery in PA earlier....both good....but likely not going to be in CA come October

Am sure you will finds lots to choose from in San Diego during your visit....good luck!

 

Sour is a really broad category, these are the different profiles that stick out to me:
Acetic - Vinegary stuff like Rodenbach and Duchesse. Believe these are Flanders/Flemish reds. Rodenbach Grand Cru is my favorite here.

Lacto - Berliners and Goses, Athena Berliner and Westbrooke Gose come to mind here. Clean sourness, almost lemony, add a shitload of fruit for double the pleasure.

Brett - Jolly Pumpkin and Crooked Stave's Vielle/Surette - These are more funky than sour but I find the most enjoyable ones have a decent balance of brett funk and lacto sourness. Prairie does good work here too, and Anchorage knows how to build a beer around brett. I've come to really enjoy the subtlety in these beers.

Belgium Guezes/Lambics - I haven't had a lot of these, mostly Cantillons. They have a somewhat skunky sourness to them in my experience but are impeccably balanced. Of course a straight up gueze is very different than a fruited lambic like Fou Foune, but they all seem to have a similar sourness to them at the core of the beers. The balance is what stands out in these to me.

American Wild Ales - These are all over the fuckin map. Upland and Cascade make sour bombs, SARA has a great balance between funky and tart, Crooked Stave is like...I don't even know, bourbon barrels change the hell out of them and Blackberry Dark Origins is fucking amazing if a bit aggresive and heavy on the acetic vinegary side. Same with Avery.

 

Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza or Biere de Mars would be perfect first sours. Have them with fresh dark bread, pumpernickel perhaps, and good butter. It will bring a tear to your eye.