Sour beers are trendy, but they aren’t new. In the 19th century, poor sanitation and naturally occurring bacteria made most beer taste a little tart. Belgians have been deliberately infecting their beers for more than a century, fermenting trademark styles like gueuzes and krieks with wild yeast and bacteria. In the right doses, these microorganisms add levity and complexity to the brews. Lose control of them, and the bugs act as spoilers.

Craft beer has its devotees. And within that community is a group of sour beer enthusiasts, a subculture full of eager bloggers and home brewers.

More US brewers are borrowing from that tradition, concentrating their efforts on these atavistic beers as an important part of their lineup. When Jeff Horner took the job as brewmaster at Nantucket’s Cisco Brewery in 2007, one of the first things he did was start a sour-beer series called “The Woods.”


Using barrels from neighboring Nantucket Vineyards and Triple Eight Distillery, Horner crafts some of the most labor intensive — and complex — beers in Cisco’s repertoire. “The winemaker would discard his used wine barrels until I started pulling them into the brewery,” says Horner. “The Woods beers are a passion of mine. It’s my first child, really.”

Horner’s passion is a labor of love. The Woods series make up about 1 percent of Cisco’s total production but take up 25 percent of its warehouse space. The four current beers — Pechish Woods, Cranberry Woods, Lady of the Woods, and Monomy Kriek — age for years in barrels and require dedicated bottling equipment. In other words, it’s a lot of work for something most Cisco drinkers will never see.

Beer Advocate’s website called Pechish Woods an American wild ale. “It’s difficult to categorize these beers,” says Horner. “The beer lexicon reacts to brewer’s creativity. They are sour, some are truly wild, some are inoculated, some are barrel-aged, some are barrel-fermented. Pechish Woods happens to be all of the above.”


Brewed with Brettanomyces, lactobacillus, and other wild yeasts, Pechish Woods is 2½ years old when it’s bottled. Mine is a pale straw color in a glass with aromas of lemon, damp grass, and musty dresser drawer. The taste isn’t as sour or funky as the smell.

Peachy and a bit woody, flavors hint at time spent in the barrel, without the oakiness of an overwhelming chardonnay. Many oak-aged beers are high-gravity, but this one is 4.8 percent alcohol by volume, and is light and refreshing.

Now for the downside: It’s not available in many places and at around $18 per bottle, the cost is prohibitive. Try it once. It’s complex and rewarding. The flavors of this brew will change over time. You can taste the work that went into it.

Pechish Woods is available at Pembroke Center Liquors, Pembroke, 781-293-9665. Other beers from the Woods series are available at The Urban Grape, South End, 857-250-2509, and Redstone Liquors, Stoneham, 781-438-9265.

Gary Dzen can be reached at gary.dzen@globe.com.