What's a sour craft beer all about?

Craft brewing is a world of balance and bitterness, an industry that focuses on clarity. This is what 'good brewing' looks like. If you want to turn left whilst everyone else goes right, then the 'sour' is for you. A new world of sharpness, fruit and a hint of wild is the name of the game. We brewed our first sour last year, working with Vocation Brewery initially, to create a raspberry sour called 'That's My Jam'. Read on to find out more about sours.

A sour is a pretty Ronseal name, it does exactly what it says on the tin. Sours hold a very particular tart, or even acidic character. It's a simple concept, created by a different approach to brewing your usual hazy craft IPAs. The usual suspects rely on yeast for fermentation, but sours bring other microorganisms to the table, that help to generate lactic acid. That's what drives that stylistic tang and puckering sensation. Levels of 'tartness' can range from a subtle or gentle citrus zip, to a full blown mouth puckering sharpness.

 Modern craft brewing techniques include things like kettle souring, whereby the wort is intentionally acidified before boiling, which gives brewers a more predictable methodology to create clean and consistent sour profiles.

It feels like sours are a very modern and new arrival in the world of craft beer, but their roots stretch back for years, centuries even. Before we had modern sanitation or yeast isolation nearly all beers had a hint of acidity. Beer styles like Belgian lambics or German Gose kept these characteristics, using wild fermentation to create complex and tart beers.

 What has changed is how modern beer has interpreted and recreated these types of beer, utilising that sour backbone, but pairing it with bolder ingredients. Modern sours are characterised by the use of fruit, creating not only a sour taste or feel, but also a craft beer that is richly aromatic.

 A beer like 'That's My Jam' is a real example of this. The layering of 200kg of Raspberries, over a bright and zingy tart base gives you something that is crisp, refreshing and a touch indulgent. You get natural sweetness, whilst the acidity of the fruit isn't hidden, it is amplified to crate a sour. It's more like fresh fruit and squeeze of lemon and is far removed from a more traditional beery beer. It's a wonderful niche world to enjoy as a craft beer drinker, and a style that is super fun to brew too.

These are beers for the masses, perfect for seasons craft beer drinkers, but also great for those who maybe don't like more traditional beer sensations or flavours. It's a style that brings complexity and experimentation to the table, alongside a broad and expanding repertoire of techniques, flavours and finishes. They are bright, but not too bitter, fruit forward with echoes of more traditional flavours of wine, cider or cocktails. It's a great way to bridge a gap for a newcomer to the craft brewing world.

The modern craft sour is about rediscovery and reinvention. It’s about taking one of beer’s oldest characteristics and turning it into something vibrant, intentional, and endlessly drinkable. You don't have to follow the rules to make a decent beer.