Craftsman Summer’s End Sour

Brewed by Craftsman Brewing Co.
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Pasadena, California USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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Draft. Clear gold pour, white head. Sourness, barnyard funk, acidic green apple, and a little herbal. Decent, pretty easy drinking for a sour.

Half pour @ Blue Palms on the Monday after their 2nd anniversary party. Color is amber iced tea. In general the beer is a good example of how to make a good acetic0centered light beer. Usually I don’t like acetic as the main character of a beer but it seems to work very well with this light brew. As stated this is a good light sour for the end of summer, really glad I got to try my first Craftsman brew.

On tap. Pours with a clear golden body and a small white head. Aroma of lactic acid, lacto, light funk, some herbs, lavender and sourness. Taste is lacto, sour, funky, pedio, apple skins, and a bit of an acetic finish. Medium to light carbonation, and feels a bit flabby on the palate.

Tap at Verdugo. Nose is really great with dry wheat, tart fruit skin, yeast. Color is a bright yellow gold with a tiny haze. Flavor has nice qualities like tart apple, more tart fruit (unripe orange, unripe raspberry-like notes), dry tea. Not a very robust balance where either malt or funk is concerned, but the sourness is thorough and not at all chemical. Really refreshing sour and maybe the best beer he makes.

On tap, LA Beerfest. Ahh, finally a satisfying new beer for me at this festival. Unfortunately it was getting dark and I couldn’t get a proper read on the color. Nose has nice clean acidity, both of the citrus and vinegar variety. Flavor leads with fresh tartness, moving forward alongside mild wood notes and citrus peel. Good mature quality to this sour, and the finish is clean with a touch of astringency. I’d like to have a bigger portion of this again.

On tap at Beachwood a few weeks back. Color was a dark, hazy orange color. Aroma was pretty sour, a bit more than expected. Flavor lacked complexity, but the sour component was well done.

I had this beer on tap at Beachwood BBQ’s sour beer fest. This hazy yellow pour was very approachable and tasty. Sour but not too sour, it’s nicely done.