Beerology | What Makes Beer Sour?

Welcome to Beerology! Once a month, we will take a look into the origins of all things booze. In this edition of Beerology, we are going to dive into the world of sour beers. Despite the extreme increase in number of breweries producing sour beer, there has not been an increase in knowledge for consumers. So, we’re making an effort to thwart misinformation. Read on to learn the basics of what makes beer sour.

If you’re someone who thinks that Americans created sour, let’s do a real quick crash course in the history of Lambic. What’s Lambic? Only the most important beer style that has led to the sudden explosion in number of “sour” beers on shelves across the country. Lambic is a spontaneously fermented beer that is produced in a region of Belgium called Pajottenland. In a nutshell, spontaneous fermentation is the process of inoculating wort with wild yeast and bacteria present in the brewery’s environment and letting those microorganisms have sole responsibility over fermentation, no added brewer’s yeast or commercial cultures. This is the most traditional way of creating acidity in beer and is the predecessor to modern production of sour beer. Read More

Win Tickets to New Belgium’s Denver Lost in the Woods

Each February New Belgium hosts a unique party celebrating the annual release of La Folie and Transatlantique Kriek. La Folie, their award winning sour brown, that helped kick off their sour … Read More

Russian River Brewing Company | Consecration

ABV 10%

Russian River Brewing Company is not only regarded as one of the best breweries in California, but also in the country. The other day I had the great pleasure of visiting their brew pub and the first thing I noticed was the phenomenal selection of beers to choose from. They have everything from sessions to pilsners to stouts to porters and their famous IPA’s and wilds/sours. The demand for all the Russian River Brewing Company beers is high due to their philosophy that it is easier to make better beer than it is to make more beer! I have not had a beer aged in wine-barrels I have enjoyed as much as Consecration. Read More

Three Taverns Brewery | Inceptus Wild Ale

ABV: 6%

Inceptus, a wild ale from Three Taverns Brewery in Decatur, Georgia, is on the short list of good things to come out of a rather ugly situation in Atlanta last winter.

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Wicked Weed Brewing’s Funkatorium

If you love serious sour and funk, be warned: you won’t want to leave Wicked Weed Brewing’s Funkatorium in Asheville, North Carolina. You’ll wonder if they’d notice if you hid among the barrels and spent the night. At 5’4”, this thought seriously went through my head.

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Cascade Brewing | Gose

School is back in session, the leaves are beginning to change, and I even need a jacket in the morning on some days. Fall is just around the corner. While breweries are racing to get their pumpkin beers and fall seasonals on tap and on the shelves, I’m refusing to let go of summer just yet. That’s why I’m enjoying my last reserves of Cascade Brewing Gose. Read More

Upland Brewing Company | Peach Lambic

According to the Presidents of the United States of America, peaches come from a can, but Upland Brewing Company in Bloomington, Indiana is proving that peaches can come in a bottle too. Upland is famous throughout the US for their fruited lambic style beers. Lambics are a style from Belgium that is normally a low abv beer that is incredibly tart. The fruit is used to cut the tartness and add a little bit of sweet fruit flavor. Upland’s lambics have become so popular that they’ve had to implement a lottery system. You have to enter to win the opportunity to buy their beer. They just released a peach and persimmon version. Read More

Beerstagrams 4/18- 4/25

99 bottles of beer in the dumpster, 99 bottles of beer, take one out, pass it around, 98 bottles of beer in the dumpster…

Ok maybe it doesn’t make the … Read More

Gøse – Fanø Bryghus and Brown Paper Bag Project

ABV 5.5%

A few years ago, in the French region of Brittany, I had a beer that took me by surprise: the label said it was brewed with sea salt. I hadn’t yet heard of gøse and the beer had a salinity and fullness that was new to me. I forgot the name and spent several years trying to track down salty beer. On a brewery tour in Seattle I piped up and asked the head brewer if he’d ever heard of such a thing—he looked at me like I was crazy. Of course I wasn’t; I’d just asked several years before the sour beer frenzy hit the States. Read More

The magical, mystical brewery tour: Cantillon

Cantillon’s cheery yellow façade looks out over a vacant lot in an industrial part of Brussels. If you stand quietly on the sidewalk outside and breathe deeply, you can hear the clinking of bottles and smell the pleasant sourness of yeast at work. You might even feel that sharp pleasant sting of anticipation as you imagine taking a sip of a pale-gold gueuze. Read More

Ultimate 6er – An Intro to Sour Beer

Working at a beer store I find the most common style people are insatiably curious about is the sour beer category. There are a few different ways to make a sour beer. The most common methods include using wild yeast strains like brettanomyces or adding certain types of bacteria into the brew – saccharomyces, pediococcus, and lactobacillus being the most common. I’ve done my best to include an ecclectic mixture that showcases a little taste of each in my Ultimate 6er – An Intro to Sour Beer. Read More