Sour beer

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This Norwegian sour beer was aged for eighteen months in oak barrels and used a Lambic yeast.

Sour beer is a beer style characterized by an intentionally acidic, tart, sour taste. It is Category 17 of the Beer Judge Certification Program Style Guidelines. In theory any style of beer may be soured, but in practice the most common styles that are soured are Belgian lambics, gueuzes, and Flanders red ale.

Contents

• 1 Brewing
• 2 Breweries
• 3 References
• 4 Further reading

Brewing

Unlike modern brewing, which is done in a sterile environment to guard against the intrusion of wild yeast,^[1] sour beers are made by allowing wild yeast strains or bacteria into the brew. Traditionally, Belgian brewers allowed wild yeast to enter the brew naturally through the barrels – an unpredictable process that many modern brewers avoid.^[2] The most common agents used are Lactobacillus, Brettanomyces, and Pediococcus.^[1] Another method for achieving a tart flavor is adding fruit – most commonly cherries (to produce kriek) or raspberries (to produce framboise) – during the aging process, to cause a secondary fermentation.^[2][3]
Because of the uncertainty involved in using wild yeast, the sour beer brewing process is extremely unpredictable. The beer takes months to ferment and can take years to mature.^[1]

Breweries

Making sour beer is a risky and specialized form of beer brewing, and longstanding breweries which produce it and other lambics often specialize in this and other Belgian-style beers. Established in 1836, one of the oldest breweries still in operation that produces sour beer is the Rodenbach Brewery of Roeselare, Belgium.^[4] Today sour beer has spread outside Belgium to include other European breweries and some in the United States, such as Russian River Brewing Company, Portland's Cascade Brewing Barrel House^[5]

References

1. Greg Koch; Matt Allyn (1 October 2011). The Brewer's Apprentice: An Insider's Guide to the Art and Craft of Beer Brewing, Taught by the Masters. Rockport Publishers. pp. 91–93. ISBN 978-1-59253-731-0. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
2. Lurie, Joshua (July 1, 2009). "Sour beer? Pucker up". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
3. Charlie Papazian (11 September 2003). The complete joy of homebrewing. HarperCollins. p. 346. ISBN 978-0-06-053105-8. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
4. Oliver, Garrett (21 April 2005). The Brewmaster's Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food. HarperCollins. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-06-000571-9. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
5. Cascade Brewing Barrel House menu Retrieved January 8, 2013.

Further reading

• Sour Beer Is Risky Business, Starting With the Name
• Pucker Up, Buttercup