A sour beer becomes super sour due to the presence of organic acids, mainly lactic and acetic acids, produced by bacteria and yeast during fermentation. The process used, aging time, and ingredients all influence the final level and character of sourness. Sours get their trademark tartness and sourness from bacteria and wild yeasts — Lactobacillus, Acetobacter, Brettanomyces, and other critters — which you wouldn’t find in different styles of beer. Each type of bacteria imparts its distinctive flavor and aroma: Lactobacillus has a tang reminiscent of yogurt, Acetobacter contributes the sourness of vinegar, and Brettanomyces exhibits a barnyard, earthy, or farmhouse aroma. For some sour styles, the wild bacteria and yeast are introduced into the beer during an open or spontaneous fermentation, where vats of wort are exposed to natural air. Other sour styles don’t use open fermentation, but they do rely on the bacteria and yeast in barrels to do a similar job. As the barrels age, the beer becomes increasingly sour, leading to the common practice of blending beer from several different barrels, both young and old, to achieve a consistent flavor. Today, Peaks & Pints offers a flight of five super sour beers called Peaks & Pints Ber Flight: Super Sour.
Peaks & Pints Beer Flight: Super Sour
Hanssens Oudbeitje
6% ABV
Hanssens Artisanaal Oudbeitje is a traditional Belgian fruit lambic crafted by Hanssens Artisanaal, a family-run blendary located in Dworp, Belgium. Established in 1871, Hanssens specializes in blending lambics rather than brewing them, sourcing base lambics from other producers and aging them with added fruits to create unique, unpasteurized, and unsweetened beers. Hanssens Oudbeitje is notable for being the only commercially available, non-back-sweetened strawberry lambic on the market. First blended in 2000, it involves adding 150 kg of fresh Belgian strawberries to every 600-liter barrel of two-year-old lambic. The mixture is matured through the winter in oak barrels and bottled in the spring. It hits the nose with a tart strawberry scent complemented by earthy, cheesy, and vanilla notes. Oudbeitje has a tart, sour, and dry flavor profile with unmistakable strawberry fruitiness, though little sweetness.
New Belgium La Folie
6.4% ABV
La Folie is a pioneering American sour ale that pays homage to the traditional Flanders oud bruin style. Introduced in 1997 by New Belgium Brewing Company, it has become a benchmark in the U.S. craft sour beer scene. It’s fermented with lager yeast with mixed cultures, and then aged 1–3 years in large French oak foeders. It hits the nose with a blend of green apple, cherry, and plum notes, accompanied by hints of earthy funk and subtle vanilla. It sports a sharp and sour profile featuring tart cranberry-like astringency, dark fruit sourness, and a touch of dark malt character.
Brouwerij De Brabandere Petrus Aged Pale
7.3% ABV
Petrus Aged Pale was never intended for the public. It was merely a blending beer, stored in 220-hectoliter oak foeders, used for Brouwerij De Brabandere’s Oud Bruin to impart a slightly sour flavor. It wasn’t until world-renowned beer expert Michael Jackson (no, not he who moonwalked) stopped by the brewery in the ’90s and wanted to try the beer. Jackson convinced De Brabandere to let him take the “mother beer” back home to the United States, which he named Aged Pale. Aged in one of the 15 25,000L oak vessels in the Petrus aging cellar, this beer is brewed and then aged in the vessels as mentioned earlier for between 20 and 30 months. We get tons of oaky tannin and subtle malt kisses upfront, which eventually turn into that red apple cider vinegar punch. The finish is lightly tangy and slightly sour with some dry lemon notes and a lingering puckering dryness.
3 Fonteinen Schaarbeekse Kriek Blend No. 73
7.7% ABV
3 Fonteinen Schaarbeekse Kriek Blend No. 73 (Season 19/20) has been aged in barrels for 14 months, using 1- and 2-year-old lambics, with locally grown Schaarbeekse cherries. The sour fruits come from a community of families near the brewery, most of whom have just a few heirloom Schaarbeekse trees in their yards. These neighbors hand-harvest the cherries, ensuring each one is picked at its ideal ripeness. Finally, the Belgian brewers blend the barrels to achieve an average age of over 2.5 years and an alcohol by volume of 7.7 percent.
Russian River Supplication
7.75% ABV
Eighteen years ago, Russian River Brewing co-founder Vinnie Cilurzo introduced Northern Californian palates to sour beers. He aged his sours in wine barrels procured from Sonoma County wineries. One of his early masterpieces, Supplication, remains at the top of its class. It’s a brown ale aged for a year in Pinot Noir barrels with cherries added. Inspired by Belgian practices used in crafting lambic beers, Supplication is fermented with 100-percent Brettanomyces, along with Lactobacillus and Pedicoccus bacteria. Expect a delicious, subtle maltiness with a bright, sour cherry flavor and just a hint of Brett.
LINK: Peaks & Pints beer and cider cooler inventory
