Sour beers aren’t for everyone. They’re definitely an acquired taste, and not everyone will acquire the taste for tart ales. Those who are daring enough to push their beer boundaries a bit, however, will very likely be rewarded. (Check out this post for details on the difference between “sour beer” and “wild beer.”)
I started drinking sour beers about a year ago, and I’m absolutely hooked today. It took a bartender at the Sunset Grill and Tap in Allston, Mass., to convince me to give sours a try beyond that first challenging sip. Now the first thing I do when I visit a beer bar is scan the draft/bottle list for sours.
It pays to start off slowly when wading into the waters of sour ales, though. The following list spotlights a dozen of my favorite sour beers, starting with some less-challenging sours and finishing up with some seriously sour brews. Most of these beers, with a few exceptions, can be found in quality craft beer shops throughout the United States. (Note: The Russian River beers at the bottom of the list are very hard to find outside of California, but they’re so damn good, I had to include them.)
- Rodenbach
- Monk’s Café
- Duchesse de Bourgogne
- Bourgogne des Flandres
- Cuvée des Jacobins
- Vichtenaar
- Echte Kriek
- Cascade Kriek (Or really anything made by Cascade Brewing)
- The Bruery Oude Tart
- Gueuze Tilquin
- St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition
- Russian River Supplication (or any other Russian River barrel-aged brews)
UBN
