CorkBillyBeers #38. Summer of Sours, with Lough Gill and Whiplash

CorkBillyBeers #38

Summer of Sours, with Lough Gill and Whiplash

A few sours for sunny days.

Just before the summer turned sour(-ish), with my usual impeccable timing, I bought a few sours.

There is quite an array of wild sour beers, mostly from Belgium and Germany, and they include Lambic, Gueuze, Kriek, Belgian Red-Brown, Berliner Weisse, Gose and Wild Ale. Most of these use wild yeast and bacteria.

But what we are dealing with here are gathered together under the Modern Fruit and Adjunct Sours banner by beer writer Mark Dredge in his recent Beer (A Tasting Course). “Inspired by desserts and dominated by the flavour of fruits and other ingredients, these beers are often more sweet than sour.”

They are usually low in alcohol and IBU. Mark lists a few top examples and the one you may be able to get your hands on is the Sierra Nevada Wild Little Thing (5.5% ABV). I’ve seen it regularly in Bradley’s, North Main Street, Cork. “Drinks like a glass of fresh, low-alcohol rosé wine,” concludes Mark.

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Lough Gill Pain & Perfection Pastry Sour 4.0% ABV, 440ml can Bradleys

The colour is a murky orange with a very short-lived head indeed. Mango leads the aromatics. With lactose in the mix, I was thinking this might be on the sweet side but, thankfully, the Lough Gill team got the balance pretty much spot on and there’s enough sour coming through to make this that little bit tart and a big bit refreshing. 

Ingredients include Mango, Passionfruit, Guava and Lactose.

Lough Gill tells it as it is: This is the ultimate Tropical Fruit Pastry Sour refreshment for those sunny hot days. Brewed with the addition of lactose sugars & then Triple Fruited with heaps of Mango, Passion Fruit and Guava purée for the right balance in sweetness and sour fruit flavours. The resulting beer is a thick, juicy, fruity exotic brew.

Agree with that, mostly. Wouldn't say it is all that thick! Happy with the overall result though. Highly Recommended.

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Whiplash Fruit Salad Days Mango & Lime Sour, 3.8% ABV, 440ml can Bradleys

A sour fruited Berliner Weisse is how Whiplash classes this Mango and Lime Sour. 

It looks the part, looks like a large Mango lassi once its white fizzy head quickly fizzes away.  Aromas are richly fruity, not just from the hops but also from the ale yeast. And that fruit fest also continues on the palate, not surprisingly since they have added lots and lots of organic Mango and Lime fruit pureé.

Have to say the Lough Gill Pain & Perfection was much more to my liking. A rare disappointment for me then from Whiplash and now I'm a bit wary about their other recent sour, the Apricot, which is a few cans behind in the queue. Fingers crossed!

Geek Bits

Pilsner Malt

Wheat Malt

Hops are El Dorado (also in whirlpool).

Adjuncts: Mango, Lime

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Whiplash Fruit Salad Days Apricot Sour 4.1% ABV, 440ml can Bradleys

Whiplash: “We're back with our Berliner Weisses and this time around it is Mango & Lime and Apricot. Each is built on a base of Pilsner and Wheat Malts and the cleanest kettle sour we can manage, and then we absolutely load them up with fruit. There's no denying their flavours upon tasting, they're bursting at the seams!”

On this particular one, they add: Kettle soured Berliner Weisse bursting with apricot purée. A certified summer banger. 

Berliner Weisse? Author Mark Dredge (in Beer. A Tasting Course) says: The “fast sours” are light German-style wheat beers with refreshing acidity, often brewed with added fruits or dry hops.

This apricot effort looks much like its companion, like a large Mango lassi and aromas are, surprise, apricot. Not the deepest sour you’ll come across but enough to at least hint at the possibility of refreshment even if it turns out to be on the shallow side. No knockout here, I’m afraid.

Geek Bits

Pilsner Malt

Wheat Malt

Cascade

Apricots