#SourBeerDay

It's National Sour Beer Day...
it's kind of a big deal

Rewind about a month or so ago to August 2, 2012. If you recall (and you can go back and reread the blog post about it if you don’t), August 2 was the second annual National IPA Day – a magical day in which we all reached for the most glorious pint of India Pale Ale we could get our hands on and screamed “Cheers!” to anyone who would listen via FaceBook, Twitter, Pinterest, or any other Social Media avenue we had at our disposal. IPA Day was such a huge success in 2011 that it gave birth to International Stout Day and, because it was so successful in 2012, it has paved the way for the next great beer holiday that has been created out of thin air – I mean Social Media.

 

I told you that to tell you this: today, September 8, 2012, is National Sour Beer Day!!! As I alluded to in the previous paragraph, National Sour Beer Day was hatched by some Social Media gurus in the San Diego, California area and exists in the same spirit as IPA Day and Stout Day. There are two important facets of this holiday: Step 1) Acquire and consume a sour beer; Step 2) Tell everyone about it and create what we call in the industry “buzz.” It’s all about raising individual and community awareness about a less often touted style of brew. Let’s explore a little further.

 

What is a Sour Beer?

 

Barrel-fermented and aged to perfection

No, it’s not a stupid question, because many people have no idea they even exist. As the name would suggest, Sour Beers are beers that taste… sour. The style is characterized by an intentionally acidic, tart, sour taste. In theory any style of beer may be soured, but in practice the most common styles that are soured are Belgian Lambics, Gueuzes, Flanders Red Ales, and Berlinerweisses.

 

Unlike traditional brewing, which is done in a sterile environment to guard against the intrusion of wild yeast, sour beers are made by allowing wild yeast strains or bacteria into the brew. Traditionally, Belgian brewers allowed wild yeast to enter the brew naturally through the barrels – an unpredictable process that many modern brewers avoid. The most common agents used are Lactobacillus, Brettanomyces, and Pediococcus. Another method for achieving a tart flavor is adding fruit – most commonly cherries (to produce Kriek) or raspberries (to produce Framboise) – during the aging process, to cause a secondary fermentation.

 

Brouwerij Lindemans' Lambics - a Belgian treat

Because of the uncertainty involved in using wild yeast, the sour beer brewing process is extremely unpredictable. The beer takes months to ferment and can take years to mature. Of course, modern technology is changing a lot of this uncertainty and more and more modern brewers (especially us American brewers) are beginning to get into the Sour Beer game. Epic Brewing Company out in Salt Lake City, Utah makes an entire series of Sour Beers that are quite delicious. New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado makes the Lips of Faith series, which offers quite a few sours to enjoy. Dogfish Head and Stone Brewing have also been known to dabble in the sours.

 

So how do I participate in Sour Beer Day?

 

Drinking the Sour Beer is the easy part. In order to be part of the proverbial solution, you also need to spread the word. The easiest way to do this is to take to the Social Media streets and shout it out loud – using the industry approved hash tag #SourBeerDay. If you type that hash tag into any FaceBook, Twitter, Pinterest, MySpace (do people still use that one?), or any other Social Media post, the Social Media wizards will be able to track it and… Voila! You are now part of the solution! By including the hash tag in the title of my blog post, they are now tracking the very words you are reading… hooray this blog!!!

 

You can also check out the official Sour Beer Day Facebook page.

 

Ch, ch, ch, ch, cherry bomb!

But you don’t have to stop at Social Media. You can go onto the ole’ interwebs and find a local Sour Beer Day event near you. I would suggest searching in bars and pubs with a stronger leaning towards Belgian beers as they are more likely to be doing the Sour Beer thing. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can host your own Sour Beer Day event. Go out and get all sorts of Sours and then invite your friends over to taste them. Do some research first so you can impress them with your beer nerdiness – I mean beer knowledge.

 

So now that you have been given your charge, go forth and conquer! And remember the #SourBeerDay hash tag… it’s the key to success. You can also check out this article written by one of the Sour Beer Day co-founders for further enlightenment.

 

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!