I tried a number of soured wheat beers this summer and I have to say a small bit of lacto tartness REALLY adds to a beer and just makes it summery!
I want plenty of neutral yeast+ lacto fermented, high salt content, highly carbonated beers for summer.
I tried a historical recreation of a Lichtenhainer beer from Germany-which was a smoked German wheat beer (they used a Kolsch yeast and a sour mash) that also had salt added just below the flavor threshold (like a Gose) and an actual Leipziger Gose (5 minutes ago; woohoo!) -soured wheat beer (top fermented) with table salt and coriander. It also had that Kolsch tastes so I'm assuming it also used the Kolsch strain or at least a neutral German ale strain. And an American rendition of a Grodizke / Gratzer but the historical accuracy is REALLY in question on that one...
These beers are pretty light on the sour (quite a bit less than a Berliner weiss and MANY TIMES less than a Belgian Geuze) and the combination of the light acidity, high carbonation, and NACL to just below the taste threshold makes them refreshing in the way that seltzer water is refreshing. -It's a great beer experience and when you want it; nothing else will do. A Bavarian hefeweizen is just too much cloves and banana and proteins in your face to be this refreshing and dramatically hoppier beers like pale ales I find to be more "taxing". I could drink liters and liters of this stuff on a hot day.
I'd really love to see these styles become more prevalent in summer; the world of beer is missing out by not having these more available. -There's a hole in my heart without them; so I'm going to have to brew one now (sour mash under CO2 blanket mashed in a corney keg with dedicated sour seals).
Adam
