Sour
Tart, funky, and fearless. Controlled chaos in a glass.
The wild side of brewing, where controlled chaos creates complexity. Lactobacillus, Brettanomyces, and time transform malt and fruit into tart, funky, sometimes face-puckering experiences. From gentle Berliner Weisses to barnyard lambics, these beers prove that sour is a flavor, not a flaw.
6 styles · Best in a Teku
9 Sour beers in BREWTANICA™, each one read from a real label.
Styles within Sour
Each with its region of origin.
Black Sour
Sour ale brewed dark. The style guide's American-style sour ale runs from pale to black, tart and fruity by a range of methods; this is the black end. Ours is Anchorage Brewing's Anadromous, at 9.5%. Pair with goat cheese or fruit desserts.
Flanders Red
BelgiumBelgian red ale aged in oak foeders for 18-24 months with multiple yeast strains and bacteria. Rodenbach is the reference. Tart, fruity, balsamic-tinged, with a woody depth you can't fake. Sometimes called "Burgundy of Belgium".
Fruited / Smoothie
USAModern American sour loaded with fruit purée—often massive doses of raspberry, mango, passion fruit. Sometimes with vanilla and lactose for "smoothie" texture. Loud, sweet, Instagram-bait. Loved and hated in equal measure.
Gose
GermanyTart, slightly salty and spiced with coriander. The style guide files gose as a German-origin ale, straw to light amber at 4.4–5.4% ABV; contemporary versions take the colour of added fruit. Pair with seafood, ceviche or sushi.
Kettle Sour
USAModern shortcut to sour beer. Lactobacillus added to the boil kettle overnight, then brewed normally. Produces clean acidity in days rather than months. Gateway technique for breweries new to sour. Clean but less complex than wild fermentation.
Lambic / Gueuze
BelgiumBelgian spontaneous fermentation in the Pajottenland. Open cooling ships, wild yeasts, long barrel aging, sometimes fruit additions. Gueuze is blended lambic of different ages, bottle-conditioned. The deepest expression of natural brewing.