JELLYKING ~ BELLWOODS BREWERY

Jellyking is a citra dry hopped sour. The brew has been soured using a 5 strain house blend of lactobacillus. Sampled on draught the beer poured a hazy yellowy orange colour, with a small white head that a quickly settled into a ring. The nose was tart and sour containing notes of peach, apricot, lemony and grapefruit citrus, bready malts, a little funk and grassy floral hops. The taste was pleasantly sour with lots of stone fruit, lemon, grapefruit and earthy herbal-floral hops. The finish is low in bitterness with a crisp tartness. The beer was medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Very drinkable, quite pleasant.

5.6% from Toronto, Ontario

REVOLUTION #3: DRY HOPPED SOUR ~ RAINHARD BREWING

4.8% from Toronto, Ontario

Revolution #3 is the latest release in Rainhard’s Revolution series. The series is made up of one-offs and experimental concoctions. Revolution #3 is a dry hopped sour saison. Pilsner and wheat malts were used, in the brewing process. the beer was kettle soured with seven different Lactobacillus strains and fermented with Escarpment lab’s ‘new world saison with Brettonomyces’ yeast. The dry hopping was done with citra. Sampled on draught the beer poured a hazy golden orange with a smallish white head. The aroma had fresh citra hops, stone fruit, some grains, florals, and a touch of funk. The beer was pleasantly sour but not overly so. Their were lots of tart citrus flavours, along with sweet grains, stone fruit and a touch of barnyard. The finish was fresh dry and crisp, with a brightness from the city. Very refreshing and not overdone.

FICKLE MISTRESS ~ BLOCK 3

Fickle Mistress is a dry hopped kettle sour. It is fermented with lactobacillus and then dry hopped with Citra. Sampled on draught, this beer poured a hazy orange-gold colour, with a small white head that dissipated quickly. The nose had the lactic tartness along with tons of sour lemony citrus, tart fruit and citrusy hops. The taste follows the nose with lemony citrus, subtle bread malts, and citrus hops. The carbonation was lively and the finish was crisp and dry. Quite refreshing!
5.5% 20 IBU
Malts: Pilsner and Wheat
Hops: Simcoe, Citra and Columbus

PEACH UBER ~ NICKEL BROOK

Peach Über is a release from the 2016 Lab Series, from Nickel Brook. It is Nickel Brook’s Berliner Weisse (soured with lactobacillus during the sour mash process) with the addition of peaches. Sampled on draught the beer poured an opaque yellow body with the slightest hint of peach colour, with a generous foamy white head, which disappeared quickly. The aroma contained fresh peach and sour Berliner weisse traits, lemon and some subtle grains. My first sip was very peachy – not artificial peach, but a juicy peach picked right from the tree. After the first sip I found the peach to sit more in the background, as moderate sourness and citrus did it’s refreshing magic. There is a very subtle graininess and floral notes hat compliments the sour. The carbonation was lively, the mouthfeel was medium and the finish was tart, lightly drying and thirst quenching on an unseasonably hot day. A nice summer sour bomb!

4% from Burlington, Ontario

AGAINST THE CURRANT ~ WELLINGTON 

“Against the Currant” is a Kettle sour with local Ontario black currants. It was made in collaboration with “Escarpment Laboratories,” with whom Wellington shares their facilities with; they provide many local brewers with a local yeast source. Kettle souring uses lactobacillus to lower the pH of the beer in the kettle, which produces lactic acid. When the desired sourness is achieved, the kettle is then boiled to kill remaining lactobacillus. Sampled on draught the beer poured a moderately clear slightly pinkish colour with a thin white head, which receded quickly. The nose contains black currants and some grassiness and grains. The beer was sour without being puckering. The currants give it a little sweetness but don’t impede on the tartness – a few notes of lemon are also apparent. The carbonation was moderate-soft and the body was light. I really enjoyed this, I found it very refreshing, and the tart and sweet were well balanced. This summer has been super hot with heat warnings for weeks on end, this one hits the spot.

5.5 % from Guelph, Ontario

APFELGOSE ~ REVEL CIDER CO

What a wonderful marriage! This is cider made using brewing techniques from the traditional German style gose beer. The cider was soured for four months with lactobacillus and Brett Q (from the Niagara Escapement Yeast Labs) and finished with sea salt and coriander seed. It is the first in their “Brett Series.” Revel uses all locally sourced Ontario apples from local orchards.
It  poured a slightly hazy very pale yellow. The nose was light and perfumy with hints of tart apples and a grassy funkiness. The taste had a dry sweetness, almost like wine. There was both sweetness and tartness to this beer. The coriander was subtle but added spice. There was almost a nuttiness in this, reminding me of honey-salted nuts. There was a familiar flavour I couldn’t quite put my finger on either. The cider ended with a dryness and a sea salt after taste. The cider was both light and flavourful. A really good merge, I look forward to tasting more from this series.

7.7% from Hamilton, Ontario

Picture: Revel Instagram

SOUR ALE WITH HIBISCUS ~ LEFT FIELD 

This sour is a one-off for Left Field Brewing and their first foray into making sour ale. They have used kettle souring techniques and added lactobacillus to create the tartness. Dried Hibiscus flowers were added to the boil to impart colour and berry, lemon and floral notes. Sampled on draught at the brewery, the ale poured a gorgeous rich pinkish-red colour. The nose has much lacto tartness, with subtle florals. The beer itself is quite sour, with subtle hibiscus and wheat. The mouthfeel is effervescent and quite refreshing. Though it is not a complex brew it is quite tasty and very refreshing. I hope that Left Field will continue to experiment!

4% from East End Toronto IBU 10
Photo courtesy of Left Field Brewery

FALLEN IDOL ~ INDIE ALE HOUSE

Fallen Idol is a sour wit, made with rhubarb.  The beers pour an opaque gold with a hint of a peachy hue.  Lemon, herbal notes, and wheat dominate the nose, with a touch of sourness.  Taste is sweet wheat with lots of lemon and other citrus with herbals flavours, with a pleasant Brett-y/lactobacillus sourness.  The beer has some depth, really well done, highly drinkable, and thirst quenching.

The beer so far has only been made once and is available on draft.   “Fallen Idol” was actually made by accident, when rhubarb was added to their wit beer, it turned out really well and Indie Ale house will be attempting to recreate the accident

5%  from Toronto, Ontario    25 IBU
Key Ingredients: Lactobacillus, Rhubarb

SWAMP FLY ~ NORTHWINDS BREWERY

Swamp fly is a Sour Ale with Haskap Berries.  Produced using ‘kettle souring’ which is lowering the pH or the wort and adding lactobacillus culture to give sourness.  Haskap berries, which were grown by Oliver Farms in Meaford, Ontario were added for their sweet flavour.  Haskap berries are the Japanese name for Lonicera caerulea.    The berry is also know as ‘blue Honeysuckle,’ ‘Edible Honeysuckle,’ and ‘ Sweet berry Honeysuckle.  When translated from the Japanese it can be spelled: Hascap, Haskaap, or Hasukappu).

The beer pours a bright coppery pink, with reddish hues and a white head.  A fragrant berry sweetness reminding me of blackberry and raspberry make up the nose.  The taste is tart berries, with a very pleasant sourness (no where close to as sour as a Berliner) with a mild bready element.  

Malts: Pilsner, Carahell, Wheat, Acidulated
Hops: Perle
Yeast: American Ale
Other: Lacto-culture, Fresh Haskap Berries

4.7% from Collingwood, Ontario         IBU: 16

CORIOLIS EFFECT ~ BAR HOP & SAWDUST CITY

Coriolis effect  is a Berliner weisse made in collaboration with Bar Hop, a bar in Toronto.  Bar Hop cuts the sourness of the beer with homemade raspberry or woodruff syrup.  I had this mouth puckering-ly sour beer by itself.  It pours a light hazy straw colour with a white head.  Nose is sour with notes of lemon, wheat and tart fruit.  Finish is tart, sour and a little bready. The beer is made with Lactobacillus Brevis (lactic fermentation) from Guelph's own Escarpment yeast bank. (Who knew there is a Yeast bank?)

BTW…In physics, the Coriolis effect is a deflection of moving objects when the motion is described relative to a rotating reference frame. In a reference frame with clockwise rotation, the deflection is to the left of the motion of the object; in one with counter-clockwise rotation, the deflection is to the right....also slang for a hang over.

 3.2% from Gravenhurst, Ontario
-beer 98-

GOSE ~ LOCAL 7

My favourite summer beer!  Gose beer is a Belgian style wheat beer.  This beer originated in the 16th Century, made with coriander seeds and a hint of salt.  revived in Goslar in the 1980′s and adopted by many North American craft breweries.  This Gose is made from Gose is a wheat ale, 60% malted wheat, and 40% Pilsner malt.  Lactobacillus Brevis  which is used after fermentation, produces the refreshing sour lemon tartness.  Very refreshing. -beer 12-

4.2 % from Toronto, Ontario