The Sour Appreciation Thread

the beer revolu · 07-10-2015 6:07pm #1

I've been into my Lambics and other Belgian sours for quite a few years now but it's pretty recent that we're starting to get Irish sour beers. To get things started I'll confine myself to Irish offerings.

This year we've had from Ireland:

Galway Bay Desperate Mile . I liked this very light and refreshing, if a bit thin but proper sour.

The White Hag Irish Heather Ale. I really, really like this beer. It has a beautiful malty balance to the sourness and wonderful complexity. Sour but very balanced. It's spontaneously fermented and has no hops. Probably my beer of the year so far.

Kinnegar Geuzeberry. A gooseberry sour. Very sour with a lovely fruity background and a lovely yeastiness from bottle conditioning.

Marks for effort but....... :

White Gypsy Scarlett Sour. Eh, not sour or particularly red. I wasn't a fan - too yeasty for me too.

Black's Brown Sour Ale. Again not really sour but quite a pleasant brown ale.

Special Mention:

Brown Paper Bag Project Gose. Not made in Ireland but a fantastic salty, lemony sour. Love this beer.

Have I missed any Irish sours (there's another The White Hag one that I haven't tried).

Please feel free to broaden the scope to other non Irish sours that are available here too. Some great German and, of course, Belgian ones knocking around too. What are people's favourites?

BeerNut · 07-10-2015 6:23pm

If you're counting BPBP, there's Auld Bruin Bagger which I thought was excellent.

Galway Bay has also released Maybe Next Monday, Godspeed and The Eternalist.

RasTa · 07-10-2015 8:13pm

I would vote to keep this in the main thread.

Calypso by Siren is another beauty.

Tube · 07-10-2015 8:46pm

There was a sour beer competition in Belfast recently. Geuzberry took best pro overall, with Beann Gulbann (unblended version) runner up in the Irish section.

http://sourfest.beer

It'll be back next year, along with a sour beer bar, over two days

poitinstill · 08-10-2015 12:00pm

ive tried a few sours but they really are not to my taste.. even at the ICBCF last month i tired a lot of the sours but the only one i could take in a full serve was kinslae brown sour..think mcgargles had one to that would cut the throat off ya

the beer revolu · 08-10-2015 12:49pm

poitinstill wrote: »

ive tried a few sours but they really are not to my taste.. even at the ICBCF last month i tired a lot of the sours but the only one i could take in a full serve was kinslae brown sour..think mcgargles had one to that would cut the throat off ya

More than being an acquired taste, I think sour beers are just not for everyone. I love sour tastes, generally. I love citrus, sour sweets are never sour enough for me, I ever will sip vinegar straight to taste it but not everyone is like that.

Oh, another Irish sour: Smethwick's (but only on very rare occasions). I've twice had sour Smethwick's from keg - it was delicious!

irish_goat · 08-10-2015 2:04pm

Have had Maybe Next Monday and Godspeed from Galway Bay. Wasn't keen on the former, bit too much yoghurty taste but having the latter now and it is lovely. Brewed with peach and mango, very juicy. Nice afternoon beer.

the beer revolu · 08-10-2015 2:14pm

BeerNut wrote: »

If you're counting BPBP, there's Auld Bruin Bagger which I thought was excellent.

Galway Bay has also released Maybe Next Monday, Godspeed and The Eternalist.

Ah yeah, Auld Bruin Bagger was nice - not an easy drinking beer, though.

Have GBB bottled any of the above? I need to try them.

irish_goat · 08-10-2015 2:26pm

the beer revolu wrote: »

Have GBB bottled any of the above? I need to try them.

The Eternalist is bottled and it's literally just been delivered to their Dublin pubs. The other 2 are keg only.

ben.schlomo · 08-10-2015 2:28pm

Not a big fan of sours but this year ive had GBB's Black Berliner Weisse, didnt enjoy and Siren Calypso, loved this one.

BeerNut · 08-10-2015 2:40pm

ben.schlomo wrote: »

GBB's Black Berliner Weisse

Heathen. Loved that beer but I don't think anybody else did.

ben.schlomo · 08-10-2015 3:32pm

BeerNut wrote: »

Heathen. Loved that beer but I don't think anybody else did.

Ya i couldnt recall the name of it, it was just a bit weird for me, dont think the balance or carbonation was great.

dub_skav · 08-10-2015 4:36pm

Had Geuzeberry at the BBQ thing in Herbert park. The others with me thought it was horrible, but I thought it was very refreshing.

I have 2 bottles of it in the fridge now waiting for me

Son0vagun · 08-10-2015 7:57pm

Gose by Westbrook, probably the best Sour available.

snowblind · 08-10-2015 8:59pm

Geuzberry and Auld Bruin Bagger have been the only good Irish sours I've had.

Favourites from around the world would be Cantillon Lou Pepe Framboise & Fou Foune, 3 Fonteinen Doesjel & Intense Red, BFM Abbaye De Saint Bon-Chien, Bruery Tart of Darkness, Black Barrels Vedova Nera

The BFM at 11% is a crazy beer. I've only tried it in the states although it's Swiss. Someone should import some bottles...

the beer revolu · 09-10-2015 9:08am

Snowblind, you should add Rodenbach Character Rouge to that list.
Amazingly complex beer.

BeerNut · 09-10-2015 10:15am

For anyone interested, the on-trade price of a 375ml bottle of The Eternalist is €11.25.

Yarghhh · 09-10-2015 11:44am

BeerNut wrote: »

For anyone interested, the on-trade price of a 375ml bottle of The Eternalist is €11.25.

A 330ml glass is 6.75 in Beer Market. Definitely the preferable price option

BeerNut · 09-10-2015 11:46am

For sure! Anyone seen it in an off licence yet?

snowblind · 09-10-2015 12:08pm

the beer revolu wrote: »

Snowblind, you should add Rodenbach Character Rouge to that list.
Amazingly complex beer.

I'll do that soon. Loved the Grand Cru vintages.

Did not love the Eternalist, unfortunately.

symbolic · 09-10-2015 2:30pm

BeerNut wrote: »

For anyone interested, the on-trade price of a 375ml bottle of The Eternalist is €11.25.

I never thought to ask... Rookie mistake maybe.. .. Didn't think a whole lot of it. Nice, as I'm enjoying the sours a lot these days.

Herb Powell · 09-10-2015 4:32pm

I haven't tried many Irish sours yet, not too sure if I'm onboard with the whole sour trend, but I lived in Leipzig for a while and it's hard to beat a good Gose.

BMJD · 09-10-2015 8:21pm

BeerNut wrote: »

For anyone interested, the on-trade price of a 375ml bottle of The Eternalist is €11.25.

sarkozy · 11-10-2015 11:36am

I've only seen this tread now. I've been going on about sours a few years now. Love them. I just wish more were available at lower prices over here. Kinnegar's is quite pleasant. Brown Paper Bag Project's smokey sour was interesting and nice, too.

pawrick · 11-10-2015 11:41am

I don't think I've ever had a sour but will keep my eyes open next time I'm looking in the off licence for the names mentioned. Selection of beers in my local dunnes and tesco seems to have decreased in the last year.

the beer revolu · 05-06-2017 1:47pm

Time to update the sour thread, I think.

In the 18 months or so since I started this thread, the whole sour thing had gone from strength to strength and all sorts of fruit have come into play. I never cared for fruit beers before as they were almost always sweet - very sweet . But now, there is a raft of sour fruity beers out there and I love the syle:D

Current obsession is Yellowbelly Castaway Passionfruit Sour. I love everything about this beer both on draught and in cans.

Trouble Raspberry Berliner Weiss was pretty amazing too. This beer has way too much raspberry to be balanced but I absolutely love the result.

I think 8 Degrees Wayfarer is a very solid non fruity sour.

I still love the Heather Sour.

On the foreign side of things, the most recent stand out for me was Lervig/Oud Beersel collaboration, Black Acid . A beast of a complex dark sour.

To Øl have been knocking it out of the park with too many to recall expensive, beautiful sours.

Beavertown Brosé was also outstanding .

The Lindeman's/Mikkeller basil beer was one of the most interesting beers I've ever tasted. KInda shouldn't work but it does.

So anyone else enjoying the sours?
Any new converts?

dub_skav · 06-06-2017 10:41am

White Hag Púca is a summer classic. The yellow tin is really sour and refreshing while the pink can (also pouring pink) with hibiscus and ginger is a little sweeter, but a real winner too.

Agreed on the wayfarer too, will have to check out the yellow belly

the beer revolu · 06-06-2017 1:22pm

dub_skav wrote: »

White Hag Púca is a summer classic. The yellow tin is really sour and refreshing while the pink can (also pouring pink) with hibiscus and ginger is a little sweeter, but a real winner too.

Agreed on the wayfarer too, will have to check out the yellow belly

Yup, the Puca is lovely but I find that the hibiscus and ginger one has stepped over the mark into sour alcopop territory.

Adyx · 06-06-2017 10:25pm

Agree on the Yellowbelly, we got the cans in work and I literally drank them all myself. Metalman have their Razzbeer Sour too which is okay.

Losty Dublin · 07-06-2017 12:47am

Was in the US last week and had a few pints of Watermelon Gose from Virginia's Three Notched. Unusual to say the least but very drinkable and more sour than one would expect from Water Melon.

Krusty_Clown · 07-06-2017 5:46pm

While not actually a sour, had O'Brother's watermelon wheat recently on tap, and it really didn't appeal. Same goes for any of the raspberry sours I've tried recently - I keep buying them, rather foolishly forgetting that they just don't appeal to me, remembering only after the first sip. Yellowbelly Castaway and 8 Degrees Wayfarer are the two 'go to's. I miss the Kinnegar sour beers, as they don't seem to make it as far as Dublin any more.

From foreign shores, Siren Calypso is fantastic, when you can get your hands on it (Molloys is sometimes a safe bet). Really enjoyed Brooklyn Bel Air Sour Ale, and it's unusual in that it's a rather high ABV compared to other fruity/sour ales, coming in at 5.8%. Sieera Nevada's Otra Vez is also worth a mention, but in my book, not as good as Brooklyn's offering.

Further afield, spent a couple of days in Brussels and Brugges recently. What a feast for the sour fan. Visited A la Becasse, and had the sour beer tasting tray, then stopped off briefly in the Delerium Cafe for a tasty kriek, before moving on to Brugges, where there's a plentiful selection of sour ales in the more decent bars. Sour-heaven!

snowblind · 21-06-2017 3:38pm

I'd love to see some good irish sours. Kettle sours have an off flavour for me 95% of the time; a flavour between mold and vomit, with a throatfeel of hairy mold. Not all of them, but definitely ones that rely only on lacto.

Belgian trip recently was amazing; highlights:
3 Fonteinen Schaerbeekse Kriek 2005 - I doubt you'll believe how strong the raspberries were still on this. Unbelievable
Bokkereyder - Framboos Cognac 2016 - Too bad this brewery is difficult to sample. One place in Belgium has them and a few places in Denmark/Sweden. They exist in a lockup somewhere in Belgium.
Tilquin - Oude (Gueuze Tilquin)? ? l'Ancienne - So good they matured it twice (first version was overcarbed) and this version is beautiful. I dug all of their geuzes I tried; great plum & blackberry variants! Up there with 3F & Cantillon but less hyped
Cantillon - St Lamvinus Grand Cru 2016 - Closer to red wine than any other lambic I've had - a lot of time in wine barrels, only moderate tartness, less carb
3 Fonteinen - Hommage 2013 - Raspberries & Cherries, a damn fine mix and as all above, best lambics I've ever had.
Alvinne/Jackdaw - Cuvee Sofie Cloudberries - Only non lambic on the list. Felt almost healthy with that amount of berries
De Cam - Nectarine Lambiek Very tart, might wanna mellow some bottles with time. But still not too tart IMO. I love the nectarines, suits the style really well

Important spots to visit in/near Brussels: Moeder Lambic, Cantillon, 3F Lambic-o-Droom, In de Verzekering tegen de Grote Dorst
Just don't talk about 'sour' beer in presence of brewers/blenders. For them sour means 'gone bad'. Also lambics should be referred to as lambics and not as beers.

BeerNut · 21-06-2017 3:44pm

snowblind wrote: »

I'd love to see some good irish sours. Kettle sours have an off flavour for me 95% of the time

FWIW, none of the sour beers from White Hag are kettle-soured, with the exception of In Cahoots.

I have high hopes for Land & Labour, a side project of one of Galway Bay's brewing team. Looks like some interesting stuff is happening.

snowblind · 21-06-2017 3:50pm

BeerNut wrote: »

FWIW, none of the sour beers from White Hag are kettle-soured, with the exception of In Cahoots.

I have high hopes for Land & Labour, a side project of one of Galway Bay's brewing team. Looks like some interesting stuff is happening.

Yeah In Cahoots was clearly one of them, the others are better but none of their sours were great in my opinion. Galway Bay has done non kettle sours too but all of them missed the mark for me

High hopes for land and labour indeed, I've been following their social media and I can see they have the patience and OCD to do it properly :pac:

snowblind · 06-09-2017 10:13am

west coast trip update - found some unbeatable beers and some beers/places where the hype didn't match the quality. russian river (sours, the hoppy beers were underwhelming), sante adarius, holy mountain, pFriem, Engine House 9 delivered as far as breweries go, crux was a huge disappointment & cascade is doing very interesting stuff but all too aggressively sour imo

this is what I brought back
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should have bought more than 1 bottle of special herbs - i thoroughly loved this one
Scan(3).jpeg

a lot of IPAs etc were also drunk. time for a hiatus from beer maybe

ThunbergsAreGo · 06-09-2017 3:21pm

Hope Brewery have a decent tropical sour out the moment on limited edition

snowblind · 21-08-2019 3:16pm

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Got a 60 year old bottle of lambic.

Something for a nice bottle share. I wonder if there are other ppl out there who bring wild stuff from their travels and have some stock to do the finest bottle shares?

the beer revolu · 21-08-2019 5:20pm

snowblind wrote: »

Got a 60 year old bottle of lambic.

Something for a nice bottle share. I wonder if there are other ppl out there who bring wild stuff from their travels and have some stock to do the finest bottle shares?

What is it?
Where did you get it?
Was it silly money?
Can I have it?

snowblind · 21-08-2019 5:39pm

the beer revolu wrote: »

What is it?
Where did you get it?
Was it silly money?
Can I have it?

Goossens Lambic, AFAIK they found these when renovating the ol' Goossens brewery. From somewhere between 1957 to 1962 apparently. It's available from some vendors online I think. It's a lot more than I've ever paid for a beer so yes, but also people pay much more for good wines so idk. Also no

the beer revolu · 23-08-2019 11:14am

snowblind wrote: »

Goossens Lambic, AFAIK they found these when renovating the ol' Goossens brewery. From somewhere between 1957 to 1962 apparently. It's available from some vendors online I think. It's a lot more than I've ever paid for a beer so yes, but also people pay much more for good wines so idk. Also no

Had to Google Goosens.
Great to see a new/revived Lambic brewery.
I assume that you will drink it?
Please report back.

The Sour Appreciation Thread

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