Sour beers, a budding passion

[grayelf]

I've recently become kinda obsessed with trying sour beers on trips to Portland and SF. Do y'all have any suggestions for bottled versions that are available in Vancouver? Draft options also considered in drinking establishments. TIA.

[kinnickinnik]

Today's CAMRA newsletter just reminded me of the upcoming "Duck-Duck-Gueze" dinner at Biercraft on May 14. That may be of interest to you greyelf :-)

Quoting:
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May 14 @ 8pm
The Battle of the Belgians - Duck, Duck, Gueze

The fourth of four dinners at Biercraft's Cambie location. A three-course meal expertly paired with Cantillion Gueze, Mort Subite Oude Gueze and Cantillion Kriek. Tickets only available at the Cambie Street location. They're going fast!
http://biercraft.com/cambie/news-events/
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Biecraft is another destination to check out the sours locally.

Cheers!

[grayelf]

That's funny, I finished reading that very newsletter mere moments ago! It does sound tempting, and I've never been to Biercraft (though I did go when it was Stella's).

[fmed]

I go to Biercraft (Stella's) on Commercial regularly. They have a great selection of Belgian, though not many sour beers. I like the Petrus Aged Pale, Chapeau Cuvee Lambic and the Cantillon Gueuze. Unlike the bitter, hoppy NW craft IPAs, sour beers haven't quite hit the mainstream here yet. Perhaps next year sour will be the new bitter.

[grayelf]

Not a sour but if you ever come across this beer, Dogfish Head Sah’tea ale, please order it and drink it immediately. Strong notes of clove and a honey sweetness but still very much a beer. The SO ordered it on tap and loved it in SF at Sycamore but it appears to be in limited release in bottles as well so you could get lucky.

[kinnickinnik]

Ooh, that sounds interesting. Will watch for it. SO is stateside quite often so I'll have him keep an eye out for it there.
http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/the-brews/occassional-rarities/sahtea-0.htm

I'm quite fond of their Raison d'etre - more sweet than sour but suited to some interesting food parings - and to cook with. I used it as a base in a beer-braised beef stew once and it was superb.
http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/...

[kinnickinnik]

This blog post will be of interest: http://www.vancouverbeerblog.com/?p=3050

[kinnickinnik]

Oh how I love the sours!
Cascade brewing in Portland is always a must-visit spot when I'm down there.

Try Brewery Creek, Darby's, Firefly, Legacy for bottles.

Besides the usual fruity lambics, you can look for Rodenbach Grand Cru which is pretty widely available. It's a Flanders red - deep dark fruits and balsamic notes. Also look for Duchesse de Bourgogne, other Rodenbachs,

Jolly Pumpkin makes a few lovely sours (eg, their Grand Reserve) and may be available here.

St. Augustines, and probably Alibi room too should have Storm's Flanders red on tap. I absolutely love it but it is SOUR. Yaletown's Oud Bruin's also on tap at St. A's now - a milder sour than Storms, very tasty.

Alibi should have some selection in the bottle. Tell Nigel you want to try some sours and he can point you to what's on hand.

Upright brewing's 7 has a definite tang but not a sour per se. Lovely complex beer.
Driftwood's Bird of Prey (Flemish Red) and Belle Royal (sour cherry) may well turn up again. Alibi may have bottles on hand.

That's what I can think of for now - I'll post more as I remember.

[grayelf]

Thanks so much for the detailed suggestions and the great link! Cascade is big time on my list for Pdx in May (didn't make it there in March). We had a tamarind based draft sour ale at Deschutes called Los Muertos that was pretty mild. Also managed to try a Rodenbach (bottle) last week in SF though I'm not sure which one it was (will try to post a pic later) as well as Duchesse de Bourgogne (on draft) which I liked a lot. We also tried a Ommegang Zuur 2009 from NY on draft that was mighty tasty, with a more cherry flavour and is I understand in the Flanders Oud Bruin style.

I've grabbed a few fruity lambics and krieks from Brewery Creek and wasn't in love so maybe those aren't my style. I think I like sour and less fruity but it will be fun discovering if that is the case. They seem like great beers for summer drinking so I guess the timing of my quest is good :-).

[grayelf]

Can't believe I forgot to mention the Russian River Consecration. Most expensive beer I've ever bought but really delicious.

[kinnickinnik]

Both Ommegang and Russian River are wonderful breweries. And, AFAIK, not to be found here

When you're in Portland in May, be sure to pay a visit to John's Market in Multnomah Village - you're sure to find a good selection there.
http://www.johnsmarketplace.com/

Another style that may appeal to you is gueze - dry, fairly sour, yeasty (made by blending lambic into a fresh beer. Here's a few (Lindeman's and Cantillon should be easy to find here
)http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/14

[grayelf]

Furiously cutting and pasting... I've tried Lindeman's something but I don't think it was gueze so that sounds like a possibility. Molto grazie.

[grayelf]

Just remembered another sour I was lucky enough to try in Portland in March: Lompoc Cherry Christmas Sour, which sounds like another seasonal. I'd sure appreciate it if Hounds would post here when a seasonal sour turns up here at home!

[vandan]

Where did u drink those beers I'm in SF as we speak ?

[grayelf]

Try Toronado, Monk's Kettle (they have two Russian Rivers! per http://monkskettle.com/index.php/menu... ) and City Beer, but check wherever you go for bottled options.

[vandan]

there is also a chain called BevMo, that has a huge selection of wine and beer, i went to the one at Van Ness and Sutter it was quite big but apparently it was one of the smaller ones ! http://www.bevmo.com/