Eight Selections for Sour Beer Day

Any excuse to celebrate a day that’s entirely dedicated to a specific style of beer is fine by us! And hey, September 8th is “Sour Beer Day”! But what the heck is ‘sour beer’, you might be asking yourself? Well we’ll tell you:

“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.”

So, with that in mind, what are some really tasty sour beers we can all get our hands on today (since it is Friday, after all)? Well here are eight we definitely recommend!

Monk’s Café Flemish Sour Ale

Sweet, sour, juicy, and positively flowing with berry notes, this Flemish Sour may not be quite as sour as one might be expecting from a sour beer, but it's very much a good stepping stone into the style.

Liefmans Cuvée-Brut

Deep hints of cherry permeate this sour with distinct mouth-feels of cider and slight vinegar notes. It's a delicious sample and Liefmans is very easy to find all over and well known for their lambics.

Cascade Kriek Ale

Spicy Belgian yeasts and tart fruits make up the flavors you'll find in this peaty, earthy sour. Kriek is cherry, and when it comes to sours, cherries often play a dominant roll. This one is certainly no different.

Cantillon Classic Gueuze

Lightly carbonated -a lambic standard- and a cloudy orange is its pour, but this Gueze (a Belgian Lambic style) has a powerful funky sour scent mixed with grassy hints and light citrus. This one is strong and definitely a sour for the more advanced palate.

Russian River / Sierra Nevada BRUX

Complexly fruity and sweetly sour; green apples, hay, and a nod to sour lambics, this melding of two brewery's minds is definitely a treat and might be a bit difficult to find, but well worth a taste.

Anchorage The Tide and its Takers Triple

There's definitely a vinegary tinge to this particularly strong sour with powerful biscuity notes and a welcomed complexity of lemony citrus and tannins. This is one of those sours that truly makes you understand just how amazing they can be.

Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza

Sour green apple and distinct hints of lemon grass are the backbone of this sour. Tart and cedary with a clean, smooth aftertaste makes this sample an easy drinker, yet still puckery enough to fit the bill.

Ommegang Zuur

Weirdly subtle aromas and a non-distinct nose that really belays the tarty, sour and citrusy surprise within. It drinks very well and is simply delicious with its meandering notes of rind and tomato.