Sour Beer

What is Sour Beer?

Sour beer, as the name implies, encompasses a
variety of beer styles distinguished by their
notably sour taste.

Common Sour Beer Styles


Flanders Red


Flanders Brown/Oud Bruin


Lambic


Berliner Weisse


New World Sour Beer

 Spontaneous Fermentation


Spontaneous fermentation is the process of
exposing unfermented wort to airborne wild
yeast & microorganisms in order to aid in the
fermentation, rather than adding a more
controlled strain of brewers yeast. In the early
days of brewing all beer was produced by
spontaneous fermentation.

Tasting: Oud Beersel Oud Lambic

Spontaneous Fermentation


There are different strains of
wild yeast, not all of which are
complementary to the production
of beer. In the Payottenland
district of Belgium, where lambic
is produced, the concentration of
fruit trees and vines make an
ideal environment for the
necessary wild yeast and bacteria
to become airborne and reside in
breweries. This is one of the few
places left in the world where
commercial beers are still being
produced in this manner.

Brettanomyces


The most common wild
yeast strain found in
sour beers, brett
contributes many
complex flavors and
aromas: horsy or
barnyard, spicy, fruity,
smoky, etc The most
common strains of
Brettanomyces found in
sour beer are:
anomalous,bruxellensis,
lambicus & claussenii.
 Beer-souring Bacteria


Common bacteria found in sour beer

Lactobacillus- contributes a light, tart and tangy
characteristic to lambics and Flemish ales.

Pediococcus- mainly responsible for lactic acid
production in beer, sometimes contributes a buttery/
butterscotch quality to beer.

Acetobacter- converts ethanol into acetic acid,
responsible for producing vinegar, a prominent flavor
in some Flemish red ales.

There are many beer-souring microorganisms,
scientists have isolated more than two hundred in
Belgian lambics.

Tasting: Boon Geuze Lambic

 Flanders Red Ale


Characteristics


Color: reddish-brown to burgundy


Flavor & Aroma: Tart, Acidic, Fruity- plum, cherry, red
current, vanilla, chocolate, vinegar, Madeira, maltly but
crisp, with very low hop bitterness.

Body: Medium

Carbonation: Moderate


Specifications

AVB: 4.6-8%

Malts: Munich, light to medium cara-malts, Special B,
maize

Hops: Low alpha acid varieties- Belgian, Czech or German

IBUs: 10-25

Organisms: Saccharomyces, Lactobacillus, Pediococcus,
Acetobacter & Brettanomyces

 Flanders Red Ale
Commercial Examples

Rodenbach Grand Cru

Duchesse de Bourgogne

Monks Caf Flemish Sour Ale

Verhaeghe Vichtenaar

Tasting: Verhaeghe Duchesse de Bourgogne Flemish Red Ale

 Oud Bruin/Flanders Brown
Ales

Characteristics:

Color: Reddish Brown to Brown

Flavor & Aroma: Tart, Fruity- plums, raisons figs, dates,
cherries, prunes, caramel, toffee, treacle, chocolate, aged
Sherry, round malt character, little to no hop bitterness.

Body: Medium to Full

Carbonation: Moderate

Specifications:

ABV: 4-8%

Malts: Pilsner malt, Dark CaraVienna and CaraMunich, maize

Hops: Low alpha acid varieties-Belgian, Czech or German

IBUs: 15-25

Organisims: Saccharomyces, Lactobacillus, Pediococcus

Flanders Brown/Oud Bruin Ale
Commercial Examples

Liefmans Goudenband

Petrus Oud Bruin Ale

Tasting: Liefmans Goudenband Oud Bruin Ale

Lambic

At their best, they are

the meeting point
between beer and
wine; at their worst,
they offer a taste of
history


Michael Jackson

 What is Lambic

Lambic is a spontaneous fermented ale: it is
exposed to the wild yeasts and bacteria that
are said to be native to the Senne valley, in
which Brussels lies. It is this unusual
process, which gives the beer its distinctive
flavor: dry, vinous, and cidery, with a
slightly sour aftertaste.
 Types of Lambic
Lambic (Unblended)- Lambic that is packaged
from a single barrel without fruit or sweetening.
Faro- Blended lambic with candied sugar or
molasses added to it.
Gueuze Lambic- a blend of at least two aged of
lambic, typically one and three year old.
Fruit Lambic- Lambic with whole fruit and/or fruit
juice added, the most common are Kriek (cherry)
and Framboise (raspberry).
 Lambic
Commercial Examples
Cantillon Bruocella 1900 Grand Cru (Unblended)
Lindemens Faro
Boon Geuze
Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze

Tasting: Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus Raspberry Lambic

 New World Sour Beer

Reviving traditional beer styles with adventurous spirit
is one of the things American craft breweries do best
and the sour beer revival is well on its way.

Breweries like Port Brewing, Russian River, Jolly
Pumpkin and New Belgium, to name a few, have been
shattering the framework of traditional sour beer and
challenging the pallets beer enthusiasts far and wide.


Because of the lack of desirable airborne yeast, most of
these breweries use a process called inoculation, in
which wild yeast and beer-souring microorganisms are
introduced by the brewer.

 New World Sour Beer
Commercial Examples

Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme

Russian River Temptation

Jolly Pumpkin La Roja

New Belgium La Folie

Tasting: Russian River Compunction

Questions?