Sour beers have become a growing interest for beer drinkers. But what is it exactly and why?
When you think of beer, sour beers probably aren't the first thing that comes to mind. But sour beers are actually one of the most popular styles right now, and there's a good reason for that. They're delicious! And there are so many different types of sour beers available, there's bound to be one you love. In this post, we'll take a look at why sour beers are so popular today and why they're so unique.
But first, what is a sour beer? Sour beers acquire their fun flavor from a unique brewing process that uses wild bacteria and yeast. Whereas other types of beer, such as IPAs, use controlled yeast strains to produce more familiar flavors. All of these bacteria eat sugar like traditional brewer's yeast, but their production of lactic and acetic acids cannot be replicated by the controlled strains of yeast. Some brewers also add various fruit during the aging process to add different flavors, spur secondary fermentation, or to contribute microbes naturally present on the fruit's skin. The result is a complex blend of flavors that you can't get with any other type of beer.
Science aside, after years of experimenting and sharing tactics, many brewers have now perfected the processes to produce enough of the sours brew to keep up with growing demand. Across breweries that produce it, local sour beer is quickly outselling other forms of craft beer like pilsner, stout and lager, with sales second only to IPAs for most breweries.
Because it offers beer lovers something new to try and appeals to those who don't consider themselves beer drinkers, sour beer has become a craze. Sour beer is comparable to wine in its method of preparation — both are blended and can be aged in oak barrels — and in the way it balances its sweetness with acidity.
Many sour drinkers find the tasty beverages more approachable than traditional beers because they're lower in alcohol content and therefore less filling. They also tend to sell better during the hot and humid summer months when other types of dark beer are considered too heavy to drink.
While most sour beers finish between 3%-5% alcohol by volume (ABV), some can be as high as 8%-9% or as low as 2%. The ABV of a sour depends heavily on the style of sour and the individual beer's brewing conditions. Because sour beer generally has a lower ABV compared to others on tap, most sour beers can be considered a session beer. This includes any beer that is lower in ABV and high in refreshment, so you can enjoy multiple in a single sitting.
With the fruited sour scene exploding over the last several years, brewers are pushing the boundaries of their creativity to come up with new exciting, unique recipes to keep drinkers coming back. There are endless combinations for making a sour beer, so next time you're at a local brewery, don't be afraid to try something out of the ordinary!