Written by: Christopher Osburn | UPROXX
May 24, 2022
There are a lot of different beer styles that taste more or less the way drinkers envision beer to taste. We mean the pilsners, lagers, and less hopped pale ales of the world. But — seeing as beer is complex, complicated, and absolutely sprawling — some beer styles read just a little bit different. Enter fruited sour beers which are fruity and sour (no surprise, considering the name), sort of a twofer in terms of unique, memorable flavor profiles. More specifically, these brews are known for their slightly acidic, sometimes funky notes and can be brewed with pretty much any fruit, from peach to raspberry to sour cherry.
Sean Towers, owner and brewer at The Seed: A Living Beer Project in Atlantic City likes sour beers, but actually hates the term “fruited sour.”
“The style of fruited sour has come to mean kettle-soured or quick soured beer with unreasonable levels of highly processed, pasteurized, fruit purees added post-fermentation for an overly sweet, gluttonous, fruit juice with a completely masked background of beer,” he explains. “But that short rant aside, there are many beers out there that very harmoniously pair a reasonable level of acidity with fresh, pure, fruit character.”
Since we’d rather find the latter, we decided to turn to the beer pros for help. We asked a few well-known craft beer experts, brewers, and brewing professionals to tell us the best fruited sour beers they don’t make themselves. Keep reading to see all of their picks.
Lindeman’s Oude Kriek Cuvee Renee
Douglas Hasker, head brewer at Puesto Cerveceria in San Diego
ABV: 7%
Average Price: $12.99 for a 750ml bottle
Why This Beer?
Lindeman’s Oude Kriek Cuvee Renee. Not to be confused with Lindeman’s ultra-sweet dessert beers, this sour beer has a huge cherry aroma and balanced tartness with a complex wood character. Brewed in the old style of Belgium’s most famous guezeries.
