Your Best Beer Recommendation.

I had the experience when I first got into craft beers a long time ago. The experience is golden when it happens.

Tastes are too picky now for this to happen, plus much of the retail workforce is minimal knowledge employees, so this is hard for most of us to experience these days. As for your request, I'll leave the sours recommendations to those more enthusiastic of that neighborhood of craft beers.

 

Sours, there are quite a wide range of styles the moniker covers. Sounds like you got some good advice with Love Child. My experience is most of the sales people I run into wouldn't be able to recommend that well.

Sours isn't necessarily a style, and many folks also include things many other folks don't include in the "list", but

I recommend:

Duchesse De Burgogne
Petrus Aged Pale
Boon Mariage Parfait
Rodenbach Grand Cru

as reasonably priced beers that are in the "sour" realm. After this you can explore the world of "sours" until your wallet begins to cry, there are many, and many very delicious ones. Try them all.

 

I just had my first few sours a couple weeks back - NB Le Terroir and Rodenbach Grand Cru. The Le Terroir was a bit challenging for the first half glass; tasty but very sour. I'd highly recommend picking up some Rodenbach Grand Cru, which was very balanced and extremely approachable.

I wish I could recommend some more, but it looks like you and I are pretty much on the same experience level.

 

Rodenbach grand cru

 

The Duchesse is pretty good. (Duchesse De Bourgogne)
If you can get your hands on some Russian River Consecration though...
Not a fan of sours generally, but that one blew me away.

 

Jolly Pumpkin La Roja may be available in your area. Cascade Brewing makes some pucker juice but I don't know if it's your neck of the woods.
RIP. Your bank account! LOL

 

- Westbrook Gose
- Anderson Valley Gose
- Rodenbach grand cru
- Evil Twin/Crooked Stave Ryan and Beaster Bunny (This was more of a saison with a sour undertone to be fair)
- And Jolly Pumpkin does a lot of really great sour and tart beers.

 

Just try Consecration and then get back to us

 

Every time I asked for rec's before, I was left feeling underwhelmed so I don't do it anymore. I now know more anyways and there were probably ulterior motives.

But glad to hear that it worked out for you. Love Child is solid.

My rec's based on Love Child: +1 for Consecration, Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme, Bruery Wanderer

I know... you'd have to make some effort to obtain these, but its doable. Cheers!

 

the beer guy at my main store recommended Cuvee des Jacobins to my wife and I, knowing that we both like sours. reasonably priced and in smaller format bottles so you don't have to crack a 750ml to have a great beverage (we are also big fans of bruery sours like Tart of Darkness and Oude Tart, these are just easier to crack open and finish)
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/223/50772/

 

good call, forgot about this one

 

look up the beer list at the last culmination fest. write them down seek them out and if you like them, start saving for the next fest. to start, try prairie, lost abbey, russian river.

 

the list from What the Funk? would also be a great reference point... full menu at the bottom of this article: http://brewtallyinsane.com/2014/10/06/what-the-funk-vol-3-funk-your-face/

 

I'd recommend something from the bruery or almanac. Almanac was really my first introduction to sours. I had their dogpatch sour and it really drew me in to this style.

 

Schneider Weisse Tap 7 Unser Original
Best beer I've ever had, for now.

 

Based on the ones you mention:

• Geuze/Gueuze: 3 Fonteinen, Tilquin and possibly De Cam.
• Sour red/brown: Rodenbach Caractere Rouge, Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme, Haandbryggeriet Haandbakk and Hair of the Dog Michael.

Other recommendations from what I've tried:

• Fruit Lambic: Mikkeller Spontanredcurrant and/or Spontantriplebluberry, Cantillon Saint Lamvinus and Tilquin Oude Quetsche.
• Sour/Wild: Haandbryggeriet Sur Megge, Russian River Supplication, Mikkeller/Three Floyds Blå Spøgelse, Cascade Cherry Bourbonic Plague, Mikkeller/To Øl Not Just Another Sour, The Bruery Tart of Darkness and something from Croocked Stave

 

New Belgium Le Terroir knocked my socks off. Really, really great example of an American sour. Rodenbach Vintage is also excellent.

 

Some I would highly recommend (in no particular order):

Duchesse deBourgone
Russian River Consecration
Russian River Beatification
Upland Kiwi Lambic
Logsdon Peche n Brett
Side Project Fuzzy
New Glarus Cranbic (not very sour, but damn tasty)
Boulevard Saison Brett
Lost Abbey Cable Car

 

I was in Burlington a few years back at the City Market, looking through the beers, when the guy there asked me if I wanted anything in particular. I said I wanted to try a local IPA, so he pointed to a stack of silver cans and said "THIS ONE". That was back when you could walk into the biggest grocery store in Burlington on a Saturday and still find cans of Heady Topper just lying around. Needless to say, I owe that guy a huge thank-you...as well as a @#$%-you for getting me hooked on
one of the hardest-to-find beers in the world.