What’s a Kettle Sour All About?

What’s the difference between a Kettle Sour and a traditional sour? Is there even a difference? It’s a question that I hear frequently as breweries continually explore new beer styles. The answer is that yes, there are critical differences in the flavors of the beers and in how they’re made.

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Foundation Brewing Co. | My Jam Sour Fruited Ales

As waves crash against the rocky coast and boisterous gulls soar over historic brick buildings and sidewalks, Portland, Maine slowly begins to see the hustle and bustle of summer tourists return. According to C+R Research, as of 2021, Portland has the highest number of breweries per capita nationwide with 18 per 50,000 people and no visit to Portland is complete without multiple brewery stops.

Although there are fourteen breweries or brewpubs alone to visit on Portland’s three-mile-long peninsula, it is well worth it to make the journey inland to Industrial Way, where five different breweries reside. Thirsty beer drinkers are known to stroll from one tasting room to another, enjoying a wide range of beer styles and food trucks. With Allagash Brewing Co. as the cornerstone of the neighborhood, the industrial buildings on this aptly named road quickly filled with brewery upstarts during the initial craft boom of the 2010s and thrives today as the home of Foundation Brewing Co.
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The Virginia Beer Co. | Liquid Escape Tart Ale

Judging a beer by its label is a bias we often encounter as craft beer drinkers. If you resist the urge to check a beer’s score inside the bottle shop, then you’re relying on the beer’s look and description to hook you in. You would assume that a humble beer coming from a brewery such as The Virginia Beer Company would be an old standby, reflected in the simplistic art and presentation. But the craftsmanship and modern innovation they put into their Liquid Escape goes far beyond what to expect.

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Funkwerks | Barrel Aged Provincial

Funkwerks has been brewing Belgian-inspired beer and doing their part to “keep Fort Collins Funky” since 2010. They have managed to simultaneously be one of Colorado’s rising stars and maintain a Fort Collins hidden-gem vibe. While possibly best known for their flagship Saison, their GABF Gold Medal-winning Raspberry Provincial Sour Ale is also a crowd favorite from their core line up. Its popularity led them to create multiple variants, featuring other fruits such as pineapple, guava, passionfruit, apricot and strawberry rhubarb. The Rhuberry Provincial — the strawberry rhubarb variant — was the lucky liquid they put into a barrel to create Barrel Aged Provincial.
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Orono Brewing | Fruit Pie (Key Lime)

Youth is a fleeting moment in the story of a lifetime. Yet the memories created in those formative years often carry the most weight. The smallest moments become landmarks in a life story and shape the realities of the future. Recognizing this can be momentous for some and commonplace for others. Brewery tag team Asa Marsh-Sachs and Abe Furth of Orono Brewing bring both of their childhood experiences into the imaginative and creative beers they craft. Their newest series of releases are a variety of Fruit Pie Pastry Berliner Weisse Ales perfect for a hot, sunny summer day.
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4 Noses Brewing Company | Fruit on the Bottom

With a name like Fruit on the Bottom, it would be easy to mistake this kettle sour from 4 Noses Brewing Co. for a yogurt parfait. Alas, dear readers: I can confirm that it is indeed beer.

While my go-to beverage in a heat wave is usually a salty gose, every once in awhile it’s time to switch things up. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve had from this Broomfield-based brewery so it seemed like a worthwhile gamble.

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An Extended Summer: The Gose’s Evolution into a Year-Long Staple

It’s the dead of winter and I’m not drinking a burly, barrel-aged stout – or even an IPA. Instead, I’ve cracked open a can of Creature Comforts’ Tritonia Gose. Was I envisioning a beach on some far off island? Or a sweltering summer sun? Nope, I just wanted something light and flavorful that wasn’t a lager and wouldn’t weigh me down like some of the heavier stouts and barleywines I’ve had on winter night’s past; and I’m not alone in this sentiment.

Much like the rise of spiked seltzer, the lighter styles of beer, namely session sours such as gose ale, are experiencing a bit of a renaissance this days as folks are beginning to choose tart and tangy beers for their ability to bridge the gap between calorie-conscious and flavor-packed. IPAs aren’t going away – to the contrary even. However, many breweries have begun to appreciate the gose’s spot in giving their beer lineup a bit of balance along with a burst of new flavors. For more insight into the growing popularity of the style over the past few years, I asked several breweries making some of the best gose-style ales in the nation to get their thoughts.

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21st Amendment Brewery | Watermelon Funk

It almost feels strange to discuss a beer that’s been around for more than a year, but who says beer writers must concentrate solely on new releases? So, as summertime reaches its apex, it seems fitting to discuss 21st Amendment Brewery (21A) Watermelon Funk.

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Bonn Place Brewing Company | Intergalacto Cooler

I’m not going to lie to you. When it comes to Bonn Place Brewing Company, I’m about as biased as it gets. The beer is beautifully crafted, the taproom is cozy and the owners, Sam and Gina Masotto, are some of the warmest, friendliest people you’ll ever want to meet. If I lived a little closer, they would never get me to leave! When I heard that Bonn Place tapped Intergalacto Cooler this week, I headed to Bethlehem, PA for a visit.
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Alvarado Street Brewery & Grill | Super Rad!

Downtown Monterey, not the famous Cannery Row with the tourist shops and refurbished sardine-packing factories, was in need of a revitalization.

Monterey, California is a beautiful town on the coast about 100 miles south of San Francisco. The most famous area of Monterey is Cannery Row, a refurbished factory district full of tourist gift shops, sea food restaurants and bars. However there has been a recent revitalization of the downtown district of Monterey, led by Alvarado Street Brewery and Grill. Alvarado Street Brewery and Grill, opened by J.C. Hill and his father John Hill, had a plan for downtown. The father and son duo, together with the Head Chef Jeremiah Tydeman, created a brew pub that brings phenomenal food and great beer together to give guests “the ultimate sensory experience.” ASBG should be on your list of breweries to follow, visit and enjoy. Their canned sours are extremely sought after, each release is a huge success. They typically sell out quickly so if you see them on the shelf at your local craft beer store, don’t hesitate. J.C. Hill, the head brewer, was kind enough to speak with me about their newest release called: Super Rad.
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