Jake Laxen

jlaxen@stcloudtimes.com

Many in the craft beer industry speculate that sour beers could become the next widespread trend.

The mostly European-inspired sour styles offer consumers tart flavors and typically a lower alcohol content than most craft beers — sessionable beers in general are also trending in the industry.

Here’s a flight of influential sour beers of different styles from around the country:

Amorous from Wicked Weed Brewing of Asheville, North Carolina

This American wild ale is aged for several months in red wine barrels and dry hopped with 3.5 pounds per barrel of Mosaic, Amarillo, Citra and Centennial hops.

American wild ales are known for using wild yeasts or bacteria, and are often wood-aged. Wicked Weed opened a new $7 million brewery earlier this summer.

Star of the North from August Schell Brewing Co. of New Ulm, Minnesota

This Berliner weisse with sour apple and lemon flavors was part of the brewery’s Noble Star series that featured eight versions of the style.

Berliner weisse beers are typically made with wheat and a top-fermenting blend of traditional warm-fermenting yeasts and bacteria cultures. August Schell was founded in 1860 and is considered Minnesota’s oldest brewery. For the Noble Star series, the brewery used a pair of cypress fermentation tanks purchased by the brewery in 1936.

Kiwi Lambic from Upland Brewing Co. of Bloomington, Indiana

The lambic-style sour uses real kiwis and is part of the brewery’s extensive sour portfolio.

Lambic-style sour beers typically have fruit added to them after fermentation starts. Upland was formed in 1997 and has three locations in the state. The brewery has made several lambics with different fruits.

Resurgam from Allagash Brewing Co. of Portland, Maine

This Gueuze-style sour won a silver medal at the 2014 Great American Beer Festival and is aged in oak barrels.

The Gueuze style combines traditional and new lambic techniques and is typically aged for 2-3 years. It is traditionally considered more extreme than a standard lambic. The beer was one of four in the Coolship Belgian-style sour series. Allagash started in 1995 as a one-man operation in the corner of a warehouse.

Oude Tart from The Bruery Terreux of Placentia, California

This Flanders-style red ale has won gold medals at the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup and is aged between 6-18 months in oak barrels.

Flanders red ales are typically aged in oak and red in color. The Bruery was founded in 2008 by Patrick Rue, of whom the brewery named after. The sour beer production shifted to The Bruery Terreux label in 2015.

La Folie from New Belgium Brewing Co. of Fort Collins, Colorado

This Oud Bruin-style sour beer with apple, cherry and plum flavors is part of the brewery’s Lips of Faith sour series.

Oud Bruins are also known as Flanders brown ales and typically use cultured yeasts and bacteria and spend several months aging. New Belgium, known for its flagship beer Fat Tire, announced it was exploring a sale in 2015.

Gose from Westbrook Brewing of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

This German-style unfiltered sour known as a gose uses coriander and salt.

Goses are known for using a lactic acid bacteria before primary fermentation. The brewery was founded by Morgan and Edward Westbrook in December 2010.

About this series

The #Beer Insider is a series that looks at brewery trends and news around the country.

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