firefly's sour beer tasting

after having attended a couple of previous tastings at firefly, i knew that there are some sour beers that i enjoy, and some that i just can't stand.  but which are which?
thank dog firefly chose to host a sour tasting night!
now i know what i like, and what i'd rather not ever be offered again!

we sampled the following:

dogfish head's festina peche (4.5%)
upright brewing's late harvest barrel aged brown ale (7%)
orval trappist ale belgium pale ale (6.9%)
lindemans' cuvee rene gueuze (5%)
cantillon's gueuze 100% lambic (5%)
cantillon's kriek 100% lambic (5%)
brouwerij de ranke's cuvee (7%)
storm brewing's blackcurrent lambic

i found the dogfish head to be more tart than sour
using an old style from berlin, they added some peach flavour
and peachy colour
looks more like a very fruity wine in the glass than a beer
it tastes almost champagney
probably not something i'd buy
but enjoyable nonetheless

the brown ale was aged in a pinot barrel
with pomegranate and several other items thrown in there
yeasty spice nose
fruity, can taste the lactic acid, some oak and some spice
also on the "more tart than sour" side
drinkable, but not something i'd buy

the trappist ale, surprisingly to no one, was too belgiany for me
maybe its the brettanomyces bruxellinsis yeast i can't stand
brewed by the monks, with a nose of wet horse blanket
i mean really, i'm shocked anyone likes this stuff!
but amanda does
then again, she also likes horses so perhaps the horse blanket smell brings back good memories for her

then we moved on to lambics and gueuzes
i didn't realize a gueuze was just a blended lambic, but there you go, that's all there is to it
i don't love the smell of a gueuze, but it sure does taste better than it smells!
somehow the letting it all sour makes me not mind all those crazy wild yeasts
go figure

the lindemans was a bit champagney and definitely sour
its a blend of young and old lambics
very clear and quite sharp
less barnyardy
this i would drink again
and with the fun champagne cork, its a production to drink it so i'm likely to buy it!

the cantillon is a more traditional product
they use a turbid mash to leave more for the brett to eat through
its a blend of 1, 2 and 3 year old lambics
this product can age in the bottle for up to 20 years - go figure!
its cloudy, softer and more sour
apparently it goes really well with seafood and you can make a mean ceviche with it
i'm sold!  i'd drink this again
and probably buy it to take to a party (or make a ceviche)
its fun stuff!

the kriek is from 2009

its a fabulous red colour that matches my hair quite nicely

important in one's drink i think

its a 1.5 year old lambic put in a barrel with oooodles of fresh organic cherries

very carbonated with a lovely pink head

pairs well with fatty meats like duck, bacon and blood sausage

also works well as a reduction

i really like this stuff

i'd buy it again for sure

the de ranke cuvee is a mix of 2/3 de ranke sour and 1/3 lambic

aged in the bottle

so its quite acidic

uses crystal malts which are kilned so they carmelize and offer sweetness to the mix

quite drinkable

but i probably wouldn't buy it

and then as a special treat, chris got james at storm to part with some of his blackcurrent lambic for us to try

fabulous stuff!

yes, its barnyardy

but i like it!

i don't find it to fruity sweet, but everyone else seemed to think it might be

i'm not tasting blackcurrent per se, but definitely fruit

and i like it!

delicious down to the last drop

please sir, can i have some more?