Amongst the haze craze that has taken over the beer world this past year, I find myself gravitating towards sour ales more often than not; they are tart, refreshing, packed with flavor and tend to run a little lower in ABV—okay, I also don’t feel like I’m weighed down by tons of sugar! Don’t get me wrong, I love me some hazy IPAs but… when the temperatures are creeping up to 100 degrees I can’t pass up a sour beer!

Being from Washington, I ran in to Firestone Walker beers, more specifically their sour beers, quite often but never explored their Barrelworks program as much as I should have. And I’ll be honest… I’m having some past FOMO as I sit here drinking this beer.

(READ: Recap of 2018 Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest)

Attending Firestone Walker’s Invitational this year opened up my eyes, and tastebuds, to the magic they’ve got going on! So, being the impulsive beer buyer that I am, I had to snag a few bottles before leaving Paso Robles!

ABV: 6.8% 

Sour Opal is an American wild ale aged in French oak and American oak. Firestone then blends both young and mature beer to bring out fantastic barrel characteristics. Sour Opal pours a beautiful tangerine orange with a fluffy white head that dissipates quickly, leaving behind that beautiful lacing you can’t help but get major heart eyes for.

The aroma of this beer is enough to draw you in; boasting vast notes of oak, vanilla and apricot with a twist of funky yeast I was immediately drawn in. The taste mimics the aroma adding jammy stone fruit to the mix and settling out with a nice, funky, sour finish. Carbonation on the Sour Opal is a little bit higher, which seems to draw out more cherry funk that lingers oh so beautifully on the tongue. To put it simply, Sour Opal leaves me with wanting more!

Firestone continues to bring yet another phenomenal sour ale checking off all those tasty notes you want in a sour beer. It’s even better when it’s too hot in your house and you desperately need something to cool you down—because sometimes water just isn’t going to work.

If you can’t make it down to Paso Robles to check out their amazingly impressive and drool-worthy brewery, don’t worry! You can find Firestone Walker all over, but check out their beer finder here!

Cheers Xx

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