The third in our series of rotating sour drafts is a barrel-aged blend of our Saison and Chocolate Porter. This beer pours a deep amber, with plenty of sourness upfront in the aroma, while the flavor never becomes too sour. Subtle complexity unfurls sip after sip, revealing juicy fruits, faint oak, and a pleasant earthiness.
We delved into sours in 2002 after a trip to Belgium. We started our sour program by inoculating 4 used wine barrels with our favorite Belgian Gueuze. With each generation, the wood becomes more “seasoned” as the colonies of microbacteria grow. The blend of micro-organisms residing in the oak (lactobacillus, brettanomyces and Pediococcus) are responsible for creating the acids and esters that give this beer its enchanting sour flavors. Our souring process creates sweet-tart sour notes and moderate acidity that play off of the flavors in the base beers.
Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer