Sour Beers are here to Stay

Although the Nor’easter Brewing Company will not initially brew nor market a Flanders, Limbic, or Gueuzes sour styled beer, I am constantly asked about this beer and thought we should include something in our releases.

In theory, all beers could be brewed as a sour styled beer with the substitution of a different yeast, most common strain for sours being a Brettanomyces.  Unlike the traditional brewing environment of an almost total sterile production process to protect the yeast from contamination, this style uses wild yeast, which actually relies on bacteria!  This yeast, and sometimes adding a fruit, yields a tart or sour tasting beer.  Again, unlike traditional brewing, whereby the brew master works earnestly to produce a consistent beer from batch to batch, the process for brewing a sour generally results in an unpredictable, nearly uncontrollable, outcome. 

Although the sour beer styles have been available from the Belgium breweries since the 1800’s, the North American operators have only recently introduced this as part of their beer offerings.  This beer generally rests in a barrel for several years.  Accordingly, unlike most conventional Lagers and Ales, this style takes time to ferment and allow the wild yeast to do its work; while all this is happening, there must be a major willingness to take on risk for the unknown!

Today, sours are clearly the big talk of the craft beer community.  Many USA breweries that market this style sell it only at the brewery or at retail in fancy 750ml specialty packaging.  We might suggest you sample the sour beer before buying a bottle or growler.

This style has a very different taste and month feel than traditional beers and may be too tart or sour and not well balanced enough for your pallet; also these beers tend to have low carbonation and limited bitterness.  Having said this, you owe it to yourself to try a sour style to broaden your craft beer experience!

Cheers!