some damn good sour beers out there

[SchralphMacchio]

In respect to White Chocolate's IPA thread (and his sour thread, but I wanted to start with a clean slate in hopes it would stay alive this time) ... LET's TALK SOURS!


I went to Cascade Brewing in Portland, Oregon last Monday. "Noyaux" kills it ... it's actually made with the pit of an apricot (how the name is derived). They actually have a t-shirt that says "House of Sours" or something like that. Bold claim, but you know what? For an obscure brewery focusing in an obscure style and making delicious beers, let them do what they can to promote the class.
http://www.cascadebrewingbarrelhouse.com/history.asp


What sour lambic, wild, wine-barrel-aged, Flemish red or other funky ale is tickling your tongue tonight???

[Buke]

I can't resist Duchess de Bourgogne. Probably one of my absolute favorites.

[Cruiser]

I had some pretty solid sours last week. Don't know why the planets aligned last week, but they did. Yesterday I had an Oude Tart from the Bruery and a Cantillon Classic Gueuze Bio. The day before I had and AC Golden Hidden Barrel Collection Peche which was among the most strikingly sour beers I have ever tasted. Wednesday I had a Fantome Printemps (which isn't sour strictly speaking but was pretty funky nonetheless). And on Monday I had a Hanssens Oude Gueuze. The Hanssens stole the show. It was exceptionally well balanced and complex though not terribly expensive at ~$17/750ml.

[Bobcat Sig]

I've had the pleasure to sample and drink many. Most I don't remember because of the funky names. Hell, I even spent an afternoon in Portland last spring at the, "Cheers to Belgian Beers" brewfest. It was amazing.
/AKRover

About the only sour that I can think of is New Belgium's Lips of Faith. Really quite good.

[SchralphMacchio]

I'm liking what I'm hearing so far! Let's keep this thread going ... I picked up a Fontenein Oude Geuze 3 last summer because I heard that their lambic stocks got screwed up and that last year's release was all Cantillon lambic stocks. No idea if there was any truth to that, but it was a pricey bottle! Still waiting to open er up.

On that note, maybe it was the magic of the TGR tailgate, or because we were already hammered, but theetruscan brought out a bottle of Cantillon Iris and it was about the best sour beer I've ever had.

[Hugh Conway]

I've pimped them before, SARA - https://www.facebook.com/santeadairius - now with more capacity hopefully they should be easier to find. Their bottled beers have been great.

Russian River Consecration/Supplication.

though not terribly expensive at ~$17/750ml.

ooof, is that what nerd beer inflation has wrought? Lips of faith are hit and miss, mostly misses to me. Their Biere de Garde was partiuclarly bad. But I haven't had an enjoyable biere de garde either, the 21st amendment was weak.

[spook]

i can't believe all you fuckers were in portland and didn't even give me a call.

[SchralphMacchio]

I've pimped them before, SARA

Now that it's singletrack season I need to really combine a day of Aptos/Soquel MTB and Sante Adarius beer tasting ...

ooof, is that what nerd beer inflation has wrought?

I would happily pay $17 for a 750mL of imported fine, complex, enjoyable geuze. Considering everything involved and other relative costs, I'd say that's a fair price. If you do the alcohol conversion, it's practically like paying the equivalent of $14 for a really good 750mL of imported wine.

Edit: I mean $24 for a 750 of wine.

[BraddA]

Schralph, how'd the Crooked Stave we sent you home with treat ya? They do another, the "Hop Savant," that's just incredible. Barely sour, but heavy on the brett, dry, and just enough hops to give it some floral love w/o upping the bitterness. Just killer. Next time you're out this way...

[Hugh Conway]

I would happily pay $17 for a 750mL of imported fine, complex, enjoyable geuze. Considering everything involved and other relative costs, I'd say that's a fair price. If you do the alcohol conversion, it's practically like paying the equivalent of $14 for a really good 750mL of imported wine.

meh, I'd pay that for something I know to be a good beer (after all, it's cheaper than a pint at a giants game) but it seems, by me, the $10 barrier is the mental one which determines whether stock turns over or not. So the $15 beers end up abused and not worth it. At least one shop buyer has confirmed this.

Anyways.

Tried the SN Ovila's with fruit? Curious to taste those.

[SchralphMacchio]

BraddA!

It's still in my fridge - I've barely been home since I've seen you - traveled to Philly, DC, Atlanta, Portland, Bend, Oslo, Bergen, Aurland/Flam, Tromso/Lyngen, and the freaking Svalbard islands in the arctic, for a mix of lots of work and lots of vacation. I finally popped the funkwerks after MTBing this weekend and it was really nice!

Thanks a ton, come out SF ways and we'll have a beer adventure ... I need to get back out there with you some time this winter.

[BraddA]

^^^That's quite the year! Still waiting on the Svalbard TR...
May be in your neck of the woods late Sept. Glad you liked the Funkwerks.

[gatorboy]

About 3 years ago, I tried a sour during a winter beer fest. I spat it out. A year later, while visiting Ann Arbor...I tried again, but this time with recommendations from the bartender. YUM. It turns out, that most likely, I had tried a "super" sour....much like giving someone a triple IPA as their first voyage into hoppyness.

Since that day....I LOVE ME SOME SOURS.

The best and brightest, dare I say "Life Changing", is Madrugada Obscura from Jolly Pumpkin. A sour stout, yes....Stout... that is amazingly complex. Jolly Pumpkin is a great brewery and I'm encouraged to see other nearby breweries giving sours a tap (such as Vivant).

[Pegleg]

Had some Crooked Stave Surette the other night, delicious. The sour element came across as refreshing, which I thought was unusual.

[Hugh Conway]

Had some Crooked Stave Surette the other night, delicious. The sour element came across as refreshing, which I thought was unusual.

Find yourself a Berliner Weisse. Cloudy, sour, lower in alcohol (4% +/-), perfect on a summer day.

[Cruiser]

ooof, is that what nerd beer inflation has wrought?

Yeah, to a certain extent that's the case. But it fails to take into account the weak dollar policy that we've been dealing with over the last several years. If you're buying Euros with Dollars then you're paying a premium. Add the increased cost of fuel to get the product across the pond. Then factor in the US importer, state (in some cases), distributor, and retailer mark-up and you are starting to get a clearer picture. Heck, a La Folie costs as much as that Hanssens did and it's brewed just up the road from me not 4000 miles away. Both Cantillon and 3font both have stuff that retails for double what the Hanssens does.

[Hugh Conway]

the dollars been "weak" for the last 5 years and plenty of other import beers haven't seen nearly that rise in price. Other than "fuel" that picture hasn't changed. What has is the apetite for nerd beers and people thinking $17/bottle isn't bad. aka, demand.

[Cruiser]

Oh, I forgot to mention the Abbaye de Satine Bon-Chien 2006 that I had the week before last. That shit was absurdly good. It was nutty, tart, funky, fruity, and 11% ABV. But it was a ~$35 retail so I doubt I'll be going back for too many more of those.

[Tippster]

If you like sour beers and aren't afraid of a Cider yoou should find a bottle of Ebbelvoi (Apfelwein) - the Hessian National drink.

Berliner Weisse is pretty yummy, but after growing up in Munich I feel compelled to stick to Hefeweizen.

[cat in january]

If any one is near Portland, Maine this coming weekend get your tickets now for this festival. There will be some good sours in attendance.

http://www.the-festival.us/breweries/

[hatchgreenchile]

Been meaning to try Crooked Stave's L'Brett D'Or. Heard it is absolutely stellar.

[BigHerm]

Double Mountain in Hood River, OR had 2 mean sours last summer. One was brewed with Rainier cherries and the other Bing. I preferred the Bing, the lady preferred the Rainier.

[zion zig zag]

Epic's sour apple saison. Love it.

[SchralphMacchio]

Bump to keep this thread going.

Had a sour I didn't really dig too much yesterday at Drake's barrelhouse. Can't remember the name, but not like it matters since it's a one-off anyways. Interesting blend: blonde ale and hefeweizen base conditioned in CA white wine barrels. Too acrid from the sour/white wine elements, without enough interesting grassy, minerally, nutty, or other notes to bring it all back together. I hate to say it but it reminded me of a cheap sav blanc.

I still want to get back to Portland and get me some more of that noyaux - something about the pit of an apricot that tempers a sour beer wonderfully.

Maybe I should open up this Flemish red in my fridge soon ...

[SchralphMacchio]

Schralph, how'd the Crooked Stave we sent you home with treat ya?

Thanks so much for that. So the Hopenburg Uncertainty was enjoyable during a recent grill. The Crooked Stave was interesting when cold, but as it warmed up the beer became rather "hard" .... in the same way that water with high mineral content is hard. It was coming in with hard stoney qualities and didn't seem to counterbalance that with much as it warmed up.

So my favorite sours ever are Cantillon Iris (reminds me of a great semillon), Russian River Supplication (must be the awesome pinot barrels they are using, since they are in amazing pinot country), and Cascade Noyaux. If that tells you anything about my style. A little bit of grass and fruity acids counterbalanced by a touch of stone and oak.