How sour it is

Sour beer lovers are in for a sweet treat today at Ramblin’ Road .

The brewery is pouring more of the Barrel-Aged Sour Cherry Saison that debuted at last weekend’s Inland NW Craft Beer Festival, the first release from Ramblin’ Road’s rapidly expanding barrel program. There’s only a 1/6 barrel – a little more than 5 gallons – so it could go fast.

The beer (7 percent alcohol by volume, 15 International Bitterness Units) has been aging in Barrister Winery cabernet franc barrels with Rainier cherries from Green Bluff and Brettanomyces, the special yeast that gives barrel sours their distinctive character. After three and half months in the barrel – not long at all, by sour standards – it’s nicely tart with a touch of trademark Brett barnyard funk.

“I was pleasantly surprised,” said Ramblin’ Road brewer/owner Brian Guthrie, adding, “It’s just going to continue to evolve.”

It likely won’t surface again until next spring, in 750-milliliter bottles, which is how most of the brewery’s sour output will be packaged.

The current release is a blend from four different barrels. The way the yeast and other souring agents work, Guthrie said, “Every barrel of sour beer tastes different, though you’re putting in the same ingredients. That’s why blending is so important, to get the desired flavor profile.”

He has 18 barrels of beer souring at the moment, which he expects will increase to 30 in another month or so. Those include a golden strong ale in Sangiovese barrels with cherries and apricots, an imperial saison with yellow plums, and a big Belgian quad in Dry Fly wheat whiskey barrels with organic figs.

There’s also some beer aging without fruit, for blending purposes. In addition to the Brett, two different bacteria, Lactobacillus and Pediococcus, might be added to the barrels for further souring, depending on how they develop.

The process is time-consuming, typically taking a year or more. Quicker kettle sours can be made by introducing bacteria during the regular brewing process – both Iron Goat and No-Li have done those recently (and also put some of the beer in barrels with Brett for further aging) – but the results aren’t quite the same.

Barrel sours, said Guthrie, “have a depth and complexity you can’t get otherwise. It’s a whole other spectrum of flavors.”

Hot rods at Hopped Up

If sweet rides are more your thing, don’t forget the second annual car show today from 2 to 8 p.m. at Hopped Up in Spokane Valley.

There’ll be all sorts of cars – from custom to stock to muscle, plus some motorycles – along with the Tacos El Guero food truck and a full beer lineup including Quality Lemon Crème and Orange Vanilla Porter, both hits at the festival last weekend.