In Belgium lambics are women's beers. Gueuze is a mans beer. funny as this is, most Belgians believe this. edit: also, these beers, rodenbach and liefmans....the stuff just sits on the shelf at most stores in Belgium.
If you like Kombucha... Jester King just did a very small (<100 cases) run of a collaboration beer called Buddha's Brew (with the local tea company of the same name) which is a sour wheat with Kombucha blended in. It was delicious and I can't believe I forgot to mention it. Unfortunately it's long gone, but they've said they might do another round. Possibly with blueberry Kombucha. Nom.
That sounds pretty great. I'll add it to my list of "beers I hope to one day have something worth trading for"!
Gotta pay to play... ;-) see you soon buddy, looking forward to sharing some beers in FL and will shoot you a bm in regards to bottles asap!
god damn you sours, you have taken over my life! I was a noob at one time, I imagined a sour beer being disgusting. Slowly but surely, i started to drink a few here and there and before you know it I am dreaming of sours, dreaming of RR, dreaming of scoring some cantillon, asking the powerful beer gods to send me the armand4 seasonal pack, to send me Blabaer. My wallet is noticeably thinner but god damn I just love the sours !
1) most people associate only stuff like Lindemans Kriek & Timmermans Kriek with lambic - these are seen as women's beer. These beers are also very sweet lemonades basically for women who don't like pale lagers. Geuze & real aka sour lambic's are virtually unknown & most people are surprised when they discover they exists & are surprised that kriek's were originally actually sour. 2) Rodenback & Liefmans doesn't sit on the shelves - these are just very big companies who make a lot beer, they are sold at lots of supermarkets etc. & stock rotates well. Saying Rodenbach sits on the shelves is like saying in the USA, Sam Adams or Budweiser sits on the shelves.
You first item assumes most people in belgium are clueless as to the beers they have available to them, incorrect. Gueuze and 'real' sour beers are not unknown there...especially in Brussels. your second item is partially true but they are still not the ones an average belgian drinks. These lambics/gueuze/sours etc are not the popular ones (mostly referring to liefmans). Also, i should have been a bit more obvious but my comment was a joke (although a joke I hear often by my friends). anyway, no need to hijack the thread with nonsense.
Congratulations. I've tried & tried & tried. And while I'll say I don't dislike them, I just don't enjoy them like I enjoy other styles. For me, it's kinda like passing on Chicken Cordon Bleu when Beef Wellington is on the table.
Was going to say Petrus as well. Easy drinking and pretty inexpensive (750ml for $8, IIRC). And I do think sours are kind of an acquired taste for many people, as many things are. Best not to jump in and taste something extreme as it may cause you to write off the style in general.
i too am new to the craft beer world, and interestingly enough sour beer is what got me into this crazed community. your wallet will hate you but you soon will get over that. with that being said my first sour was by Jolly Pumpkin, La Roja. it was love at first sip. when i ordered it i could NOT believe the price 7/glass(12oz) but i went with it anyways and it was a good choice! having tried nearly everything they make yearly and most of their seasonals ive had one i didnt care for. bottles usually are 750mls costing 10-22 per bottle, with the exception of their "grand reserve" releases which are a entirely different beast. Rodenbach is good as well. ID LOVE TO TRY SOME RUSSIAN RIVER, but it does not come to michigan. contact me FT ISO some russian river if you are interested. hope this helps.
Rodenbach Grand Cru, Duchesse de Bourgogne, Vichtenaar, Monk's Cafe, Cuvee des Jacobins, Liefman's Goudenband
Rodenbach Grand Cru and Petrus Aged Pale are the first two I would recommend. Not expensive (for sours at least), and both are quality brews.
Try any russian river sour.. amazing. Consecration will blow your mind, also jolly pumpkin is awesome and oud beersel is somewhat inexpensive and easy to find
Once i fell for sours i knew it was game over at the brew pub i frequent to pick up sours till no end. God damn Russian River, God dammit!
Yeah, I just picked up a Supplication and Consecration today. They kinda sit on the shelves here in my shop. I asked the dude there and he said there was no limit since they weren't exactly fast sellers
I had a Lou Malnatis pizza with a bottle of Supplication and then Cantillon Gueuze 100% Lambic. Starting off the new year right. I would highly recommend both of these beers. I am jealous at the op's ability to buy RR beers, they are my favorite sours.
As some said Cuvée Des Jacobins Rogue but since you mentioned you can get Consecration definitely get some. Then ship them to me so I can enjoy them...
