Sours - where do I start?

I suppose I should have qualified that with "in my area". There are still a handful of bottle shops where I can walk in a pick it up in Southern Maryland. Sorry if I misled the OP with that. I still think its a good "intro" sour tho.

 

One local bar had it as recently as last week. And this was the second time they've had it in the last month. They must've stored some kegs away?

 

I had Sour in the Rye last week and really enjoyed it. It's not too funky or crazy, although it is very sour, so it wouldn't be the worst place to start getting into sours. If you can find it...

 

I agree. Monk's is a very good 'gateway' to sours.

 

Kriek Boon or Framboise Boon are a good starting point for traditional fruit sours. but Lindemans Cuvee Rene is a great Gueze to start with.

 

Ha, crap. I'll try and seek some of those out. I can always just cellar the SitR in that case.

 

I am avidly reading along in this thread here. Am I correct in that "sours" are kind of a broad classification that covers several different styles? For instance, is a saison (all of the ones I have tried I like) in the sour family (I think yes, but not 100% sure)? Looking at the list on Beer 101, I think I have it right - a whole bunch of brews fall into the sours family? Seeing bits and pieces from the thread that there is a spectrum from mildly sour to wicked sour, then the brettannomyces gets thrown into the mix at some point and that intensity can vary too, but not all sours use brett? And generally it looks like most can at least tolerate or benefit from some aging?

Done some reading on saisons and farmhouse ales, tried a few saisons, a few kriek's. Ah - so would a raspberry kriek fall into the sours family? Thought it was clean and sweet, not particularly "sour" though. Anyway, I am thinking this is a "style" I might really dig partly because it seems pretty unpredictable. I am not so sure about the funk (we're not talking George Clinton, right?), but the dry/sour aspect really appeals to me. I'll be keeping some notes from this thread for sure.

So teach on, oh wise ones (there - worked in the obligatory sentence starting with "so" .

 

I think all recommendations here are spot on. I personally went right at New Belgium La Folie--and my pucker face was apparently priceless, though I was hooked instantly. The sour ride is a blast. Enjoy it!

 

spot on, this is the one that got Patrick Rue interested. This is also the one that got me interested. Therefore, I am Patrick Rue; if a=b and b=c, clearly I run The Bruery.

Anyways, great call. This one is pretty extreme; ammoniated urine sour/gueuze that is delicious. Mmmmm.... ammoniated urine

 

Petrus Aged Pale is a good starting point. La Folie is a good starting point for sour browns.

 

i guess a good starter sour is Cuvee des Jacobins Rouge > La Folie

 

Yes, there are many different styles within sour beer.

Sour beers are sour mostly due to the presence of souring bacteria. (Arguments will be had whether brett can sour a beer all by itself.) Sour beers usually have brett in the mix but not always, such as sour mashed beers or lactobacillus-only sours. Those sour beers with brett can have a lot of brett funk or very little.

You can also have beers that have no souring bacteria and just brett. These beers can exhibit a little tartness but usually have no sourness or very restrained sourness. They will have a lot of funky and cherry pie flavors.

Saisons and other farmhouse beers are not typically sour or brett beers. They are fermented with a variant of saccharomyces that are expressive, like most Belgian yeast. However, saisons/farmhouse beers can have brett added, can be fermented with saison yeast and then soured, or fermented spontaneously (although some would argue it is no longer a "saison" but some sour style like a sour blonde).

 

To tack onto reverseapachemaster's excellently thorough answer, I think the reason saisons/farmhouses get sort of lumped in with sours is due to the spontaneous fermentation element. Also, there are handful of farmhouses that are fermented with brett, and while I would tend to argue on the side of brett not being able to make a beer "sour" all by itself, it's still a yeast used to do spontaneous fermentation.

The other thing that gets saisons/farmhouses into that wheelhouse is the fact that a lot of sours do use the brett yeast, so there is a common "funky" flavor profile amongst the styles.

But to answer your question about variations on "sours", the primary styles that typically considered "sour" are as follows:

• Flanders Oud Bruin
• Flanders Red
• Berliner Weisse
• Gueuze
• Lambic
• American Wild Ale (although I don't think all wild ales are sour--someone might be able to clarify)

Lambics are tricky because there are "pure" varieties, where actual fruit is added and a true lambic (unblended, spontaneously fermented beer without hops), but then there are more artificial varieties that use syrups and are really more of a fruit beer than a lambic. Also, I don't think all beers labeled as lambics actually use a lambic base. Leifmans, for example, uses an oud bruin as the base for their fruit "lambics".

 

lambipentameter and reverseapechemaster are quite right and to tack on a bit more.


to answer the OP's question would a raspberry kriek fall into the sour family?
Yes, kriek is a lambic that has been mixed with cherries. there are a number of other fruited lambics out there too, typically one flavor to a beer, i.e. raspberry, peach, even the elusive cloudberry. lambicpentameter is right some will have sugar or syrup added but others (more traditional) will rely only on natural fruit flavors coming through to balance the sour and acidity generated by the bacteria.
Traditional lambic is a spontaneously fermented beer (naturally occurring bacteria no lab created yeast present) and can be bottled without the fruit addition, i.e. unblended. its heavy on the wheat in the malt bill which makes it light in color and crisp in flavor, allows the tart bite to come through.
Gueze is a blend of lambics of several ages.
Flanders ales (Red and oud bruin) are going to have a different malt bill as the base and possibly different bacteria present compared to a lambic therefore the style has a different typical flavor profile though still with some acidity, tang, tart. like lambics they are barrel aged and blended from different ages to achieve the blender's desired flavor profile.

If we're talking about "soured" versions of other styles, a base beer that is barrel aged in a barrel inoculated with bacteria could be considered a sour as well due to presence of bacteria.

And finally no, not all sours have brett, but any beer with brett will likely have some tartness and funk so it could be considered sour.

If you are looking for some bite and dryness and are unsure of the funk then I agree with the reccommendations for Jolly Pumpkin and flemish reds and oud bruins, petrus is a good bet as well. when you are ready for a bit more funk try the fruit lambics, guezes and unblended lambics.

 

Prairie Ales are doing some great things and they are from OK. Shouldn't be too hard to track and what better way to start your sour adventure with a (somewhat) local brewery?

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30356

 

Petrus Oak Aged Pale was my gateway sour--their Aged Red is delicious too. The Cuvee Rene is an excellent example of a wild ale. The Bruery Sour in the Rye is pricey but worth it, as is any quality sour. Also check out the Bruery Tart of Darkness, Jolly Pumpkin Madrugada Obscura, and Russian River Supplication.
Unless you plan on buying a case, I implore you to not worry about price. If you restrict yourself to the cheapest options available you won't get a true sense of how wonderful sours can be.

 

Good stuff. I didn't even think about these types of beers also falling under the "sour" category.

 

and to answer another of the questions.
As far as aging after bottling goes (remember some styles of sour are already cask aged before bottling)
most beers in these categories are unpasteurized and the brett or lactobacillus or other bacteria will continue to change the character of the beer in the bottle just like any unfiltered beer fermented with yeast.
Now how desirable those changes are is a matter of perspective but the cool thing is they are lower ABV beers that can be aged and continue to evolve in the cellar.