Bitter End Sour Prick

Formerly brewed at Bitter End Bistro & Brewery
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Austin, Texas USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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GABF 2004. There was debate about this beer. The first time I tasted it, it was horrible; it tasted exactly like pickle juice. Later, I was told by a knowledgable person to go back and try it again. I was told by someone (I don’t know if it was the same person) that the beer that was in the Sour Prick pitcher was now Lip Burner, which was better than the pickle juice. I went back, and damn straight, it was a sight better. So, my conundrum: I don’t really know what I tasted, and I don’t know how to rate it. Since Sour Prick got an award, I’m going to use my good rating here, and just not rate the bad beer that was also called Sour Prick at GABF. Perhaps one of the volunteers played a prank, and actually emptied a jar of pickle juice into the pitcher, added some food coloring, etc. I don’t know. As for the second tasting (what I’ll call Sour Prick Beta), the mouthfeel was medium bodied, good carbonation. I could smell the acid, but it wasn’t as strong as I expected; stronger than most lambics I’ve had, but not pickle juice strong. I couldn’t quite place the fruit flavors (pear, sour apple?). The finish included some hoppy or spicy burn to it, which was interesting.

12 oz. Bottle [Pre-GABF party ’04] cloudy pinkish orange with a small head that dissolves quickly. Sour cherry with hints of watermelon, horse blanket funk and musty wood. The flavor is all that plus a slight fruity sweetness that helps balance the flavor. Acetic and leathery finish. Great beer.

[At GABF 2004] An unclear orange-brown beer with a small disappearing white head. The aroma is lovely sour with notes of wood. The flavor contains a great sourness, that draws out the mouthwater, and also some light metal notes. Nice one.

12 oz. bottle aged for about 8 months. Amber to red (maybe cranberry) color with large carbonation head that dissipates rather quickly. The aroma is tart (especially bret) and funky with a bit of strawberry. The flavor is tart, acetic, and leathery. It is nicely carbonated to deliver all the flavors mentioned. Thanks Tim & Brian for delivering this masterpiece to Austin!!

Murky reddish brown color with just a few bubbles that make you think this has any carbonation at all. Taste is lightly tart of cherries. A bit malty. Nothing special about this beer that was surrounded by some great Lambics. A bit too thin.

Another highlight from the GABF. Nice soft and dark red color with a murky appearance. Extremely abrasive, sour with some grassy and weed-like with a sour milky flavor as well. Cherry pits, big flavors all around, beyond a simple fruit lambic... the sourness is phenomenal, with the right balance of fruti flavor and sour grassy, woody lambic.

GABF2004... Poured a cloudy, reddish, brown color with no head. Aroma of brett, tart cherry, and sweet apples. Taste was tart like any other lambic, however I realized that cacti don’t taste so great.

GABF 2004. Cloudy raspberry-brown body. Mixture of sweet and sour cherry and raspberry elements in the nose. Brett, leather, and fruit flavors. Acetic acid notes detract. A solid effort for an American lambic, but I was not overly impressed.

(gabf 2003) The girl in line before me asked for a taste at the urging of her friends. As soon as the liquid touched her lips, she squealed and spit out the beer. And all her friends laughed. Then she dared me to drink it. Duh - the coors booth is around the corner. Flavors of raspberry with citrus. Very smooth for a sour lambic.

Wild stylee. This is a personal THANK YOU to tim Schwartz as both a great brewer and person. And a brew that lives up to all he’s done. Not that he hasn’t created ones that even surpassed this. Tart? Could be used in the dictionary as the origination of the term. Not something I would enjoy drinking every day, but many beers I love are like that and I loved this one.