A Look at Heavily Fruited Sours and Their Popularity

I have watched new styles of craft beer hit the market over the last couple of years. The Hazy IPA became very popular, and is still one of the most widely produced variants of the IPA. Dessert Stouts have become so intense that some breweries are almost focusing on nothing but them. While the styles above create divisions among craft beer drinkers, this is small compared to the stir that heavily fruited sours are currently creating. They are becoming highly sought after, and a lot of people are paying a lot of money to get their hands on them. And some people don’t even consider them beer, saying they are more of a beer cocktail. And some people think there’s just too much hype for these beers which sometimes taste just like a smoothie, or juice. No matter where you stand on this matter, it’s hard to deny the popularity of these styles!

I have been drinking sour beer as long as anyone. I got to go to Germany in 2007, and first tried Berliner Weisse in Nuremberg where the bartender threw a pixie stick into my beer. The contrast of sweet-and-sour in this beer excited me. Then I got to Berlin and found the servers carried the green woodruff syrup called Waldmeister with them, and added it to the Berliner Weisse right at the table. It was sickening sweet to my palate, but that’s how they do it in Berlin! I got back to Philadelphia a week later and sitting at the now defunct Nodding Head Brewery, I sampled a straight Berliner Weisse. It was pure sour heaven!

Across the next couple of years, I tried my hand at Brewing with a friend. While I enjoyed the process, I can honestly say it was a lot of work. John Kinzfogl and I once made a Berliner Weisse in which we added blue raspberry Jolly Ranchers. It was quite interesting, and maybe very forward thinking at the time! Across the next decade I watched sours slowly gain popularity to the point where here in Indiana we began to have sour/funk fests. Every fruit imaginable was added to Gose,Weisse, kettle sours, and the rest of the gamut. But nothing could prepare me for what was to come!

While I feel I am very knowledgeable about beer, I may have discovered heavily fruited sours late in the game. I have chosen to use the term above as a wide umbrella for the style of beer I am discussing. Across-the-board brewers start with a Berliner Weisse base, and then add tons of fruit and spices creating a very thick beer. Heavily fruited sour is an accurate term, but the brewers have many of their own names for the beers they make. The first time I became aware of these beers was about a year and a half ago when I was told about beer slushy’s at 450 North outside Columbus, Indiana. It sounded crazy, putting puréed fruit in beer! Nevertheless, I knew I would have to try them!

The author’s first time trying “beer slushy’s”. The first one he tried was the orange flavored Golden Lion. After trying nearly 100 heavily fruited sours, it’s still probably his favorite!

When I finally got to 450 North, I decided to try a flight . If you’ve only been able to have this style of beer canned, I can honestly tell you it taste far better on draft. They say to drink it fresh because of the fruit, and it certainly taste fresher at the brewery. The first beer I tried that day was called Golden Lion. It tasted like the best orange juice I have ever had with a hint of beer on the finish. I don’t think I could go for this flavor all the time, but at that moment it was amazing. Since then I’ve tried scores of fruited sours, and only Untitled Art’s Florida Weisse(also made with orange juice) came close. I have made several trips back to 450 North, and I’ve tried a lot of great Slushy’s, but the Golden Lion is still my favorite!

A few months later as I was visiting all the breweries in Indiana, I got to Hoosier Brewing in Greenwood. They featured three different lines of fruit sours, but I think their Superfruit line is what turned me onto their beer. The first one I tried was Black Current, and the sour flavor of this beer was immensely delicious. I have been able to have many different fruited sours in their taproom, and stand by my comment that this beer is best drank fresh on draft. Along with the Superfruits, Pie Face, and Spin to Win are the lines the brewery uses to present their sours. Hoosier keeps making great sours in different styles. I think they get pie flavor down right in the Pie Face beers, and the Spin To Win are very interesting beers that taste remarkably like fruit smoothies. Some of them worked well on my palate, and some were just interesting!

I get it. You may not live close to a place producing these beers, and perhaps you like the style, and that’s great too. The flavor does travel well and is still an amazing experienced from a can. It’s the only way I’ve been able to experience Untitled Arts who I feel may do this style of beer as well as anyone. It was their Florida Weisse that turned me on to their excellent work in fruited sours. They also have a Pixie Mix style which makes me think back to the first Berliner Weisse I had back in Nurenberg! The fruit punch Pixie Mix was superb and it’s worth noting that a lot of breweries are making fruit punch sours right now. I was also able to try while researching this article a collaboration between Blackstack and Untitled Arts called Mixed Berry Sour A La Mode. If you like mixed berry crisp with ice cream, that’s what this beer reminds me of!

So with two awesome breweries making heavily fruited sours in the Indianapolis area, I wasn’t surprised when juggernaut Sun King threw their hat into the arena. They stick to straight flavors of fruit much like the Superfruits from Hoosier. Vince Van Mango was amazing and I never realized how much I like mango for its distinct almost peach like flavor! They offer these beers at their brewery as singles. When I was there, there were three different varieties to try. I’m slowly becoming impressed with what this brewery does, and if you live in the Indianapolis area, you need to try these new sours from Sun King. In addition to everything mentioned, Guggman House offers great fruited sours in their German style beer garden.

If you don’t live in Indianapolis, you still probably have access to this style of beer. I tried many different fruited sours from around the country for this story. I’m sure that there are many breweries nationwide dabbling in the style, and you will continue to see a lot more of it. RAR brewing in Cambridge Maryland makes some amazing sours. My friend Mike gave me a coconut cream sour in their Out of Order series that was amazing. In nearby Baltimore, Duclaw is making similar beers. Humble Forager in Waunakee, Wisconsin joins Untitled Art making great fruited sours. Skygazer in North Haven, Connecticut is doing a great job, as is Cincinnati’s Urban Artifact, and Rancho Cucamonga, California’s Kings Brewing. This style of beer is here to stay, and only getting more popular!

When I first heard about this style of beer, I never imagined I would like it so much. There is a great variety in the style from the almost smoothie beers, to the straight sour ones that I feel are true to the Berliner Weisse style. I got to go to Dot & Line last weekend while I was in Fort Wayne and got a beer called Fruit Shooter. This beer featured mango, passion fruit, and guava. It was one of the sourest fruited beers I have yet to try. I really liked it and wish the brewery success as they dabble in this style. I’ve heard a lot of breweries are interested in making these beers, and I wish them all success!

As I collected a lot of beers in the style for the article, I had a few extras to trade and share. I made trips to northern Indiana last weekend and the weekend before visiting people who didn’t have access to many of these beers. I shared a 450 North sour with Jade at Fort Wayne’s Deer Park, which was enjoyable. I also got to have some with my friend Kelly down in Jeffersonville which also was fun. And last Sunday, I was able to stop in to 5’s Tap House in Anderson where we sampled a couple of these fruited sours. Everywhere I go, people are anxious to try these beers, and that’s exciting!

Maybe you don’t like the style of beer. If that’s the case, I give you props for reading this far! Still as someone who wants to see craft beer grow, I like anything that brings more people into the realm of craft beer drinking. I’ve spent enough time at 450 North to enjoy all the people that come to experience craft beer because they have heard so much about slushy‘s! I consider them a great place to start. If you can make it down to Columbus, Indiana, give them a visit. Katie and company are friendly, and they have some really great beer. They’ve recently started making heavily fruited IPA’s which I got to try last weekend. They do these really well, and maybe this is a trend that will catch on as well. Devils Trumpet in Merillville, Indiana is doing soda pop IPAs which are not strictly sour, but in a similar wheelhouse.

So I don’t always drink this style of beer, but as a fan of sours, I can appreciate what these breweries are doing. This style of beer has always been added to. The Germans added very sweet syrup, and in my opinion, American brewers are just currently following in the spirit. As long as you don’t hate juice, this style of beer is interesting. I like to stay relevant in beer trends, and as many more people approach craft beer, heavily fruited sours will draw lots of people in. Sour beer has often been a gateway into craft beer. Some people only like sour beer, so there’s no reason for this style not to remain popular for a very long time. I like craft beer because brewers experiment, and there really is no bigger experiment then this style of beer!

As I finish this article, I am enjoying a pint of the Mixed Berry Sour A La Mode from Untitled Art. While I am partial to Indiana beer, I think I know the brewery that does the style best. So I will drink my local stuff with reverence and enjoyment, as well as keeping tabs on the excellent sours being made in Wisconsin. I like sours, and I never expected to like these heavily fruited ones as much as I do. There is something truly amazing about them, and it may well change the face of craft beer. I truly don’t know how popular this beer will become, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

If you’re reading this article, you have either tried this style, or you haven’t. Maybe you already like the style, and applaud how good it is! Unless you absolutely hate sour beer, I encourage you to try one. I think it captures the essence of summer beer, and perhaps the popularity of this style will only grow in the coming months. I like beer, and while IPAs and Stouts are my favorite beers, I consider sours to be a close third. Heavily fruited sour beers are here to stay, and like it or not, are heavily sought after. The breweries making them come out with new ones every week. So no matter what you think about this style, please understand that this is good for craft beer, and in my mind, that’s all that matters!