TOPIC:

I will definitely remember this trip as the trip that converted me to the joys of sour beers.

I know I've complained in the past that I haven't met a sour beer that I truely enjoyed and that the few that I have had have been insanely over sour/astringent or sickenlingly sweetened with fake sweetner.

I've read all the way through Wild Brews and quickly determined that the sour beers that I have had in the past were all considered VERY sour or astringent. Examples: Rodenbach Grand Cru (I didn't even know that they made a more subdued blended "Klassik" version), Duches De Borgogne

Last night I tried "De Proef Monstre Rouge" which is a collaboration between De Proef & US brewer Terrapin and billed as an "Imperial Flanders Red".
Knock-my-socks-off AMAZING beer experience.
It's 9.5% and has quite a bit of sweetness to balance the sour; reddish brown color, taste of carmel and layers and layers of spiciness. Incredibly complex and the alcohol is well hidden except in the nose.

It's one of the best beers I've had in quite a while if I can find it ANYWHERE in a bottle, I'm picking it up. I literally smiled a big grin and almost laughed to myself with pleasure while tasting this one; I just gave up writing tasting notes to enjoy it. GORGEOUS.

I've had a couple of lightly soured or sweet/sour sours here from a local brewery called "Cisco", too. I'm definitely starting to get into this sour beer thing.

I also managed to find a Brown Ale that is just to die for and it's not normally a style I go for; Dark Horse Boffo Brown. Basically a brown ale darked to being almost a brown porter; chocolate on the nose, but an almost concord grapy flavor from it. I have no idea where the grape flavor is coming from as it's not barrel aged, there's no grapes used, just strange.


I'm chasing down as many sour beers as I can find while I'm here; I think I'm very much into the balanced sweet/sour beers and maybe this is a "gateway" to liking the truely sour beers...

Now we need the Drink Store to just start importing some sour belgians! (That De Proef Monstre Rouge is amazing stuff!)


Adam

I have to say I have never even tried a sour beer, what is available here that anyone would recommend.?

I am a big fan of American brown ales!

try rodenbach grand cru, it's a classic sour flemish ale. It is so sour, it's like a classy version of those sweets I wasn't allowed have when I was younger. probably the good beer stores have it, and bull and castle has it. Even supervalu in balbriggan has it!

I prefer ordinary Rodenbach to the Grand Cru, which can come out rather vinegary.

Halite, Oude Gueze Boon and Mariage Parfait are both common in good offies and are well worth trying.

Grand Cru is SOOO sour, when I tried it at the Bull and Castle Oktoberfest thingy 2 years ago it was so sour I couldn't finish it. (It was at the time the 2nd beer that I ever had that I just couldn't bring myself to finish.)


In retrospect it definitely wasn't the best beer to try as a FIRST or second sour beer. (My first was "the Duchesse", which is at least equally sour.) The regular Rodenbach ("Klassiek") is only 25% aged really sour beer; the "Grand Cru" is 100% aged and soured so the Klassiek should be considerably less sour.

I've also had Lindeman's Faro, but so far I think I prefer my sours to be sweetened with malt rather than sugar...


Adam

Technically Guiness extra stout is partially soured; some Belgian Wits supposedly use a small proportion of acidulated malt so they're ever so slightly soured, too!

Although there doesn't seem to be a book specifically out on sour beer (yet); I'm sure one is on the way and it's only a matter of time.

Lots of methods exist for souring:
1. Adding Acidulated Malt (1% of grain bill == 0.1 drop in PH).
2. Adding various food-grade acids directly (different acids produce different levels of over-all and perceived acidity; some acids will seem harsh unless they're allowed to sit for extended periods of time)
3. Making a "sour mash"
4. Making a "sour wort"
5. Using Lactobacillus and/or Pediococcus bacteria
6. Using wild Brettanomyces yeast strains (feeding them more simple sugars makes them produce more acid (will only produce lactic acid in anaerobic conditions but in aerobic conditions will also produce acetic acid (vinegar)))

"Wild Brews" covers some great info on #5 & #6 (As does the "Burgundy Babbel Belt" website), but doesn't discuss the other options at all (it's not a "sour beer book"). Some of the practical information on using Brett, Lacto, and Pediococcus on a home brew scale is also missing from "Wild Brews". Example: How to blend a soured batch with an unsour batch and still avoid having the "bugs" eat the residual sugars in the unsour batch and turn the whole batch sour and produce bottle bombs...
[i:1d2yqgiy]Note: If you just boil the sour batch, you will boil off your precious ethanol way before you kill the bugs; so that's not the answer.[/i:1d2yqgiy]


Sour beers seem more art than science and I'm very excited about giving one a try...
-My porter is getting the traditionally soured by bugs treatment IF I can get a hold of the proper bugs...
(I HATE the strong "barnyard"/"horseblanket" flavors that most Brett strains put off, so I want a pure Brett Claussenni strain...)


Adam