Sours: Help for Noobs

I don't know if you can get Lost Abbey out in Michigan, but Red Poppy ale was definitely what sparked an interest in sours for me (I hated them before). Also NB's La Folie was tasty and way approachable from a sour-un-initiated perspective

 

Jester King is a great place to start, if you can trade for them. I'm biased toward RR stuff, which isn't necessarily any easier to get. Consecration and Temptation, in particular, have a mild, wine-like quality, due to the fact that they're aged in wine barrels.

 

Anderson Valley is distributing their Blood Orange Gose to Michigan now. That might be a good one to try, given the price point and approachability.

 

Start off with a Lambic, pretty much anything from Lindemans or Liefmans. Also Duchesse De Bourgogne from Brouwerij Verhaeghe is a very mild sour.

 

Try Lindemans Cuvee Rene, should be available at places in MI and IMO is a great intro sour Belgian beer

 

Good to know...I'll be out in Cali in April, so perhaps that will be a good time to try some RR.

 

I wasn't a fan at one point ... but then I seriously tried to adapt. I then went with Petrus, and moved on from there. I now love sours!

 

@jivex5k great breakdown! Thanks man.

I have tried a few of the Bruery sours and maybe that's what turned me off to sours initially...they're just so damn sour. Jolly Pumpkin is everywhere here in MI. I have tried a couple of those too and they're just ok to me, but there's quite a few different ones.

I might keep an eye out for that Anderson Blood Orange since a couple of folks suggested that now. People seem to love the Gose style a lot.

I think the vinegary taste is what I don't like...but I'm not sure if that's just part of the overall sour style or not.

 

It was easiest for us to transition via the Flanders Red route. They tend to be a little sweeter and softer on those new to the world of sour/tart beer. Great ones to start with are Cuvee des Jacobins Rouge and Duchesse de Bourgogne.

 

If you're looking for entry sours I would start with a Gose or berliner weisse as stated above. Also, an easy to get and cheap option would be the Stony Brook Red from Sam Adams. Not the best beer but at 8 bucks a bomber it's worth trying their take on a flanders red.

 

Vanderghinste

 

Dogfish Head Festina Peche is a great starter sour IMO. Not overly sour and has a touch of sweetness. Unfortunately this is a summer seasonal.

 

I would use a few factors to decide how to approach this. Do you prefer hoppy sours, sweet sours, or straght-up sours? Do you prefer barrel-aged sours or not? And how sour do you want to go?

Hoppy: Bitter Monk, Le Terroir, Saison-Brett, Love Buzz, lots from Wicked Weed, Logsdon Seizoen/Bretta, Orval
Sweet: Most of the belgians - Duchesse de Bourgogne, Cuvee des Jacobins Rouge, Rodenbach
Straight up: Most gueuzes - Tilquin, Cantillon, Girardin, 3F
Barrel-aged: Cascade and Russian River sours (Beatification is a personal favorite), Wicked Weed, Bruery (not Hottenroth)
Non-BA: Goses - Westbrook (a must try and a great value), Anderson Valley, Bruery Hottenroth

I thought La Folie was extremely, mouth-puckeringly sour, and not very good. I enjoyed Le Terroir very much, especially fresh. Beatification was a revelation, and Supplication and Consecration were as advertised. Westbrook Gose is in my fridge all the time.

 

Though they might not be "starter" spurs, I've converted previously non craft beer drinkers with la folie and cuvee des jacobins rouge
On the other end of the spectrum, a person who swore off new glarus after trying enigma

 

I do think a fruit lambic is always a good place to start. but every one liking sours now, that is rich., still a rare thing.

plus sour to me is different to others, I had that argument.

 

@DESTIHLbrewery is doing great things these days.

 

So I had Prairie Artisans Funky Gold Amarillo tonight never tried any sours that I can recall and my mind was blown so much going on with this beer. Can I expect this from other sours or is this beer an outlier of the category? Help me out so I know what to look for when I head back to the beer store. In Texas for distribution reference.

 

Pretty close, but maybe some sours will be more.. sour, and usually more acetic.

Do you like vinegar, or that vinegary taste?

Look for New Belgium La Folie, or Le Terrior.. If you can get New Holland, look for some of their sours. Without disparaging them, or your taste.. they are sours with training wheels and are pricing incredibly well.

Sours aren't cheap generally, so be warned, you are treading into an expensive taste, but.. I find them the most satisfying, and something of a finer reward in life.

The Funky Gold was a dry hopped sour/wild, so I think a Le Terrior would be right up your alley if you could find it.

 

Thanks for the feedback will be looking to explore this category with those recommendations and others that the kind folks on this forum provide. Based on this one off experience with Amarillo I'm afraid I've been over looking some seriously killer beer!!

 

Sours are delicious and a money drain. There's your education

Also agree with the Le Terroir rec. Great beer.