2015 GABF Theme Route | Sours & Wilds

Brady Akers
On September 21, 2015
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Attending a session at Great American Beer Festival can be overwhelming, even for the most experienced beer fan. To help you make the most of your festival experience, Tristan Chan, Chris Day and I would like to be your tour guide through several distinct craft beer journeys including Sour & Wild Beers, Rare Beers, Big Beers, Fruit Beers, Hoppy Beers and Unique Beers. We’ll give you the breweries, beers and descriptions, then let you go from there.

Today’s theme route focuses on Sour & Wild Beers, which have gained incredible popularity over the last few years. If you are looking for beers that make your lips pucker and mouth water, you have chosen the right adventure today. This list is by no means a complete list of all sours, but it is a great starting point. Grab some Tums and join us on your journey through Sour Beers at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival.

Check out our other themed routes:

We list the Brewery (Booth Number), Beer, and Description.

Allagash Brewing (N1). Coolship Resurgum A blend of 1, 2 and 3 year old spontaneously fermented beer.
Bend Brewing (I7), Salmonberry Sour Ale, American Sour Ale brewed with wild Salmonberries and Redwood Sorrel. 2014 GABF Gold Medal Winner
Bend Brewing (I7), Ching Ching, American Sour Ale brewed with Pomegranate and Hibiscus.
Bend Brewing (I7), Volkssekt, German style Berliner Weisse
Fremont Brewing (W23), The Lamb, This saison is brewed with Northwest hops, aged for 3 years in oak wine barrels with Brettanomyces lambicus to produce pear and apple notes and a distinct but gently funky farmhouse character.
Black Project (O21) Dreamland, Grown with care over many months of aging. Dreamland was born from the coolship into two wine barrels. After 6+ months of development we added both barrels to our first solera vessel and slowly filled it with wort as fermentation hit key stages of progression. An additional 4-5 months later and we are finally releasing the first batch from this solera.
Black Project (O21) Blueberry Dreamland, Pulled from the mature Dreamland 1 solera, this beer was added on top of 84lbs of blueberry residing in a Napa Valley red wine barrel. After two months of aging on fruit, the base beer has transformed into a beautiful blue-purple with strong blueberry aroma and flavors.
Black Project (O21) Lancer, Pulled from the mature Dreamland 1 solera, this beer was added on top of 5 gallons of Colorado Wildflower honey residing in a Napa Valley red wine barrel. After 2 months of refermentation and aging with honey, residual honey aroma and flavor are quite present.
Almanac Beer Co. (S7), Valley of the Heart’s Delight, Sour ale aged in wine barrels with apricots
Almanac Beer Co. (S7), Citra Sour, Sour blonde ale dry-hopped with Citra
Belching Beaver Brewery (Y11), Berry Passion, Lightly tart Berliner Weisse brewed with fresh passion fruit and blueberries that is fruity and refreshing with every sip
Sudwerk Brewing Company (V11), Funke Hop Farm, This brett saison comes from a unique blend of barrel-aged brew made in locally sourced Petite Syrah and Grenache wine barrels. It’s carefully crafted with a final round of dry-hopping to bring out distinct notes of citrus and stone fruit.
Brooklyn Brewery (G9), K is for Kriek, Ale brewed with honey, dark candi syrup and orange peel aged in bourbon barrels on whole cherrries
Brooklyn Brewery (G9), Bedivere, Strong Belgian-style golden ale aged in white wine barrels with our proprietary Brettanomyces strain
Weyerbacher Brewing (Z24), Tarte Nouveau, Kettle-soured with lactobacillus. This refreshing brew with a dry finish pours pale yellow with a large, dense, white head.
Prison City Pub & Brewery (X2), Cherry Poppins, Berliner Weisse style beer aged on tart cherries.
Prison City Pub & Brewery (X2), Run Like an Apricot, Berliner Weisse with Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus and apricot puree.
Bruery Terreux (S24), Flemishish,Sour blond ale with apricots
Bruery Terreux (S24), Oude Tart,Flanders-style red ale
Union Craft (H28), Old Pro, A dash of salt. A touch of tart. That’s what makes this unique German-style wheat beer a seasoned professional at serious summer thirst quenching. With its glowing golden color, peach & citrus nose followed by a prickly mouthfeel that leaves a gentle tartness and a dash of salt on the palate.
Blue Blood Brewing (F4), Outlaw Series – Red Wine Barrel Aged Farmhouse Ale, Wine & Oak Tannins cut through the spice notes of this Farmhouse Ale to provide a nice fruity, sour profile.
Flix Brewhouse (K15), Selvatica, Dry, tart and refreshing wild ale
Flix Brewhouse (K15), Brambler, Blackberry Flanders Red
Flix Brewhouse – Carmel (K16), Mario Gose, Mario Gose has a soft, tart, refreshing acidity from a lactic acid producing bacteria during fermentation. The traditional ingredients of salt and coriander give it a unique complexity to compliment the tart finish.
Sun King Brewery (E8), Cherry Busey, A Flanders-style Oud Bruin Ale produced using a complex cocktail of wild yeasts and aged in a bevy of barrels. A multitude of Montmorency cherries were lovingly liberated to give the beer its tart cherry tang.
Black Star Co-op (K6), Conceit, Sour mashed pale ale using exclusively New Zealand Motueka hops.
Avery Brewing (N17), Fortuna, Sour aged in Suerte Tequila barrels with lime zest and salt.
Avery Brewing (N17), Raspberry Sour, Luscious ripe red raspberries are elegantly intertwined with a bountiful amount of lactic acidity and delicate barrel nuances.
Black Star Co-op (K6), Waterloo, Sour mashed wheat beer fermented with 210 pounds of apricots
Backcountry Brewery (O10), Lil’ Tart Berliner Weisse, You can expect a lemony aroma and flavor, a mild tartness and a touch of wheatiness in the background.
Backcountry Brewery (O10), Tart SaiZin, Imperial Saison aged for 18 months in a Rombauer Red Zinfandel French oak barrels. It is a blend of aged beer with 3 strains of yeast, Brettanomyces included, and 3 strains of bacteria to give it a moderate tartness and complex array of flavors.
Brasserie Saint James (K17), 1904, American Golden Ale with 100% Brettanomyces fermentation
Brasserie Saint James (K17), Plum Lambic,Traditional Belgian lambic aged in barrels with Italian plums.
Brasserie Saint James (K17), Lambic Grand Cru, Traditional Belgian Lambic aged 2 years in oak barrels.
Baere Brewing (Y7), Baere-liner Weisse, Our take on the traditional German sour beer. Tart and refreshing.
Russian River Brewing (U32), Beatification, Spontaneously fermented beer aged in oak wine barrels inspired by breweries in the Lambic region of Belgium
Russian River Brewing (U32), Supplication, Brown Ale aged in used Pinot Noir barrels from local Sonoma County wineries. It is aged for about 12 months with sour cherries, brettanomyces, lactobacillus, and pediococcus added to each barrel.
Upland Brewing (E24), Sour Reserve #6, Each barrel develops unique characteristics as it ferments independently, and just as Belgian brewers have been doing for centuries, we’ve sought out our favorite barrels, some young, some several years old, for blending. By blending the sour ale from these barrels together in various amounts, we created in this bottle a live harmony of tartness, fruitiness, and layers of flavor that can never be replicated.
City Star Brewing (W6), Scoundrel, Cabernet Barrel Aged Sour Brown Ale.
CODA Brewing (P11), Sleepyhead, Passion Fruit Imperial Kolsch
CODA Brewing (P11), Hold Still, American Peach Sour
New Belgium Brewing (M1), NBB Loves Felix, A single source delight from one special foeder of perfectly soured Felix, our light base beer for sours
New Belgium Brewing (M1), La Folie,This wood-aged, sour brown spends one to three years in big, oak barrels, knows as foeders. And when the beer finally hits the glass, La Folie is sharp, sour, full of green apple, cherry, and plum skin notes.
New Belgium Brewing (M1), Le Terroir,This beer packs the bold and hoppy nose of an American IPA, and all the pucker of a well-crafted sour, into one insanely delicious beer.
Copper Kettle Brewing (W9), Chancellor’s Champagne, Rrefreshing, tart and acidic German Wheat Beer.
Rare Barrel (V16), Another World, Red sour beer aged in oak barrels
Rare Barrel (V16), Ensorcelled,Dark sour beer aged in oak barrels with raspberries
Rare Barrel (V16), Impossible Soul, Golden Sour aged in aok barrels with tart cherries and sweet cherries
Bayou Teche Brewing (Y9), 5 Year Persimmon Sour, A lacto fermented sour, refermented with persimmons
Draught Works Brewery (P27), Myrna Loy American Sour, This is an American-style Sour Ale with many layers of complexity. This beer has pink peppercorns providing a slight fruity spice character that creates a refreshing finish along with a subtle ginger and raspberry addition to add flavor complexity.
FATE Brewing (W19), Uror, This traditional German-Style sour mashed wheat ale has a touch of coriander, salty bread character and refreshing, tart crispness. Notice the hints of tart pineapple, lemon rind and a mild bready yeast quality.
Fiction Beer Co. (P32), Waves and Ripples, German style sour wheat with coriander, lime, and cardamom.
Fort Collins Brewery (W21), Oldwyn’s Wild Sister, Aged for 6 months, Oldwyn, Olde English Ale’s Wild Sister has wild brett to add to her malt driven funkiness.
Grist Brewing (Q11), Tartanium Berliner Weisse, With a little more alcohol than a traditional Berliner, this kettle-soured Berliner has tartness that comes through and is complimented by its effervescence.
Grist Brewing (Q11), Blueberry Sweet Tart, A fruit beer soured for 18 months in barrels. Dark in body color, but light in mouth feel. Lots of blueberry flavor but extremely well balanced to not overwhelm the pallet.
Mockery Brewing (Z5), Wardrobe Malfunction, Bordering on the line of sour and tart, there are 450 pounds of tart and sweet cherries added to this beast.
Marble Brewing (L4), Brett IPA, Brilliant and lively, the ultimate IPA thirst quencher. From the wood of chardonnay barrels, spiked with Brettanomyces, and finished with a fresh and resonant dry hop.
NOLA Brewing (B3), Desire, American Sour Ale aged in white wine barrels with raspberries
NOLA Brewing (B3), Piety, American Sour Ale aged in red wine barrels with tart cherries
Odell Brewing (P1), Brombere, Our blackberry gose is a balance of tangy and sweet. It’s as crisp and lively as our favorite summer evenings.
Odd13 Brewing (R3), Doctor Wildcat, Sour Brown aged in cognac and red wine barrels.
Odd13 Brewing (R3), Humulus Kalecumber, Sour ale with juice from cucumber, kale, and mint added.
Odd13 Brewing (R3), Vincent Van Couch, American session sour, dry hopped with Citra and Mosaic.
Our Mutual Friend Brewing (R5), American Wild Ale, A sour ale aged in red wine barrels solera style, and blended between 3 to 18 months.
Our Mutual Friend Brewing (R5), 24FPS, A hoppy, sour, tropical golden ale. It’s fermented in red wine barrels using 100% Colorado grown malt and hops.
Our Mutual Friend Brewing (R5), Cherry Gose, A traditional salted tart beer, with fresh cherries added during fermentation.
Ratio Beerworks (X4), New Wave, A kettle sour, strawberry berliner weisse wherestrawberries are the dominant note in this beer, creating a clean, clear, crisp and fruity aroma. New Wave is effervescent and light pink making it very attractive and elegant in the hand. On the palate it is tangy and tart with a clean finish.
Real Ale (K1), Tenebrae Aeterna, A robust porter that was secondary fermented in barrels with a blend of wild yeast and bacteria.
Scatch Ales (E15), Single Tree – Hickory, Sour beer brewed with hickory leaves, nuts, and hulls for bittering, no hops, and fermented on toasted hickory bark
Short’s Brewing (MB5), Pinball Whispers, Private Stache Series- An American Sour Ale fermented with Brettanomyces and Lactobacillus
Pikes Peak Brewing (R9), Kissing Camels, Sour mash wheat beer
Crystal Springs Brewing (P22), CSBC Gose, A sour and saline tasting ale, made from over half malted wheat and the rest malted barley. The nose is mild and subdued, with no hop notes, and just a whiff of spicy coriander.
Epic Brewing (P30), Elder Brett, With an aroma rich with the musty, barnyard-like character that typifies Brettanomyces yeast as well as remnants of white wine and peaches picked up from its secondary fermentation in used Brainless® on Peaches barrels.
DESTIHL Brewery (W14), Saint Dekkera Reserve Sour Ale – Fraise, The Saint Dekkera® Reserve Sour Ale series are naturally soured by spontaneous/wild secondary fermentation and aging in oak barrels with microflora wonderfully unique to our downstate Illinois terroir, where each barrel’s individual, wild character produces beers with a wide array of acidity, sourness and unadulterated funkiness. This reserve sour ale is aged in oak barrels with strawberries.
DESTIHL Brewery (W14), Saint Dekkera Reserve Sour Ale – Flanders Oud Bruin, From the same series as Saint Dekkera – Fraise, this is a Flanders Oud Bruin reserve sour ale aged in oak barrels
Tin Man Brewing (E3), Damascene, Damascene Apricot Sour is a blend of traditionally soured ale and apricot juice. Pouring a straw-pale color, this beer’s aroma has hints of lactic acid bite dominated by the smell of apricot.
Yazoo Brewing (B32), Cherry Deux Rouges, A Cherry Flanders Red
Yazoo Brewing (B32), Deux Rouges, A Flanders Red aged in merlot barrels