Sour Beer: A Friendly Guide to Tart, Funky Brews
Sour beers cover a wide range of tastes — from bright, lemony kettle-sours to deep, vinous barrel-aged blends. If you're discovering this family of beers, you'll see why they attract brewers and wine lovers alike: acidity, complexity, and often a refreshing minerality.
Where to buy sour beer
Look for sour beers in several places depending on local availability:
- Specialty bottle shops and craft beer stores — they usually stock regional and imported sours.
- Directly from breweries — many sour and mixed-fermentation breweries sell bottles at the taproom or online.
- Online retailers and craft beer marketplaces — good for hard-to-find releases (check shipping rules in your area).
- Some larger supermarkets and well-stocked liquor stores — especially in urban areas with a craft beer scene.
- Wine shops and farm markets — sour/wild ales that bridge wine and beer sometimes appear where natural wines are sold.
If you want a sour that behaves like a bridge between wine and beer — with fruit aromas, mineral dryness and subtle oak — consider a bottle like
.
What is a Gose and how does it relate to sour beer?
Gose (pronounced GOH-zuh) is a historic German sour style originally from Goslar and popularized in Leipzig. Its defining traits:
- Low to moderate alcohol and a light to medium body.
- A gentle tartness from lactic fermentation.
- A touch of salt and often coriander, giving a savory dimension.
- Bright, refreshing finish — often drank young.
Gose is one branch of the sour world.
Other sour styles include Berliner Weisse, Flanders red, lambic blends, and modern fruit-forward wild ales. Each achieves acidity through different microbes and processes.
Can you find sour beer at the supermarket?
Yes, but availability varies. Large or specialty supermarkets in cities often carry a modest sour selection in the craft beer aisle or chilled section. Smaller stores may stock one or two approachable sours (e.g., kettle-sours or branded imports).
Tips for supermarket hunting:
- Check the chilled craft beer fridge — some sours are best kept cold and are displayed there.
- Ask staff which distributors supply the store; that can point to local breweries that might be delivered regularly.
- Look in the wine shop next door — crossover beers that taste wine-like sometimes appear there.
Is sour beer good for you?
Short answer: it depends. Nutritionally, sour beers are similar to other beers — they contain alcohol, calories, and carbohydrates. A few notes to keep in mind:
- Alcohol: Moderate drinking guidelines apply. Sour beers are not health foods.
- Probiotics: Contrary to some myths, most commercial sour beers are not a reliable source of live probiotics — many microbes are attenuated or removed during aging, filtration, or packaging.
- Acidity: The acidity can sometimes aid digestion or pair beautifully with fatty or salty foods, but it may bother people with acid reflux.
- Ingredients: Fruit-forward sours add natural sugars; barrel-aged sours can have higher alcohol and complexity (and calories).
Enjoy sours responsibly and pay attention to how they affect you individually.
How do you make a sour beer? (Quick overview)
Homebrewing sours is rewarding but can be time-consuming. Here are common approaches, simplified:
- Kettle souring: Produce a wort, cool to a warm temperature, inoculate with lactobacillus to sour for 24–72 hours, then boil, hop, and ferment with brewer's yeast. Faster and more controlled.
- Mixed fermentation / spontaneous fermentation: Use a blend of brewer's yeast (Saccharomyces), wild yeasts (Brettanomyces) and bacteria (lactobacillus, pediococcus), then age in barrels for months or years. Produces complex funk and layered acidity.
- Fruit additions: Add whole fruit, purées, or juices during secondary fermentation to develop aroma and flavor. Sanitation is key to avoid unwanted microbes.
- Barrel aging: Oak barrels contribute tannin, oxygen exchange, and character — important for wine-like or vinous sours.
Key advice: sanitize carefully, be patient (many sours need months), and start with small batches until you learn the microbes and flavors you like.
Quick pairing suggestions
- Bright, clean sours (e.g., Berliner Weisse, kettle-sour): pair with seafood, goat cheese, salads, or spicy food.
- Gose: excellent with shellfish, ceviche, or salty snacks.
- Barrel-aged, winey sours: match with aged cheeses, roasted pork, or dishes with stone fruit.
Final tips
Explore different styles to find what you love. Start with approachable sours, then move to wild and barrel-aged bottles as your palate adjusts. When in doubt, ask your local bottle shop for recommendations — they can guide you to similar flavors and producers.
