I have to put this out there - getting into sours/wild ales is the same as ‘getting into’ IPAs, or really any other beverage/product that you happen to try. Most people don’t like Greek yogurt the first time they have it, then they get hooked. Same with beer. You really need one one or more ‘beer epiphany’ moments for the switch to happen.
I remember, a good friend of mine and I, with whom I now brew regularly, went to a newly opened craft beer bar. After a few pints, we decided to take a look at their bottle list. Nicely lubricated, we ordered a bottle of Wild Devil by Victory. Probably not something I would order today, but at the time, it was such a cool, new grouping of flavors, plus the ceremony of opening a corked bottle, I will remember it as a great beer.
A similar thing happened a few months later, when I had my first Duchesse. Again, not something I would necessarily seek out now, but at the time, was a great EXPERIENCE that I remember (with this relatively approachable sour ale), in my favorite bar, with some good friends.
Hopefully the OP won’t take offense to this, but sitting at one’s own kitchen table, staring down a bottle and glass of a pretty intense/tart beer, may not be the most conducive environment to learning to appreciate a new beverage category (which this really is to your palette). Yes, its a good way to evaluate something, but thats not always what beer is about. I hope you give sours another shot, but for your liver and wallet’s sake, I hope you don’t.
No offense taken at all and I completely agree with you. It seems especially true with food and alcohol but a lot of enjoyment comes from setting and surroundings. I always try things multiple times before I decide with any certainty how I feel about it. I realize I probably should have started with a more approachable example of the style but this was the only one I saw at the store that I recognized as being a sour. I believe there was also Goose Island Lolita there as well but I think the “Oak Aged” of the Rodenbach kinda sold me cause I’m a huge fan of oak aged beers in general.
I’ve been kinda wanting to try some more from that bottle again (still in my fridge but probably flat by now) so the curiosity isn’t gone yet. The cost issue is another thing that might prohibit me from trying another one anytime soon.
That is a great insight. It is the same when you travel. My first time in Italy, I couldn’t believe how wonderful the wines were - I even brought some home with me. They didn’t have the same appeal outside their native air. And I could never understand why people raved about German beer until I tasted them in Germany.
I’ll admit though, I first tried sours on a trip to Brussels, and wasn’t hooked. That came years later. Some tastes are so outside the normal that it takes more than just atmosphere to learn to appreciate it.
So I won’t have the same experience sitting in my closet drinking my Kolsch (where I usually drink it) as I would ordering one in a cafe in Koln, sitting outside and overlooking the Rhine, staring at cans spilling out of dirndls, with aromas of sausages, pretzels, and hand-rolled cigarettes wafting past me?
[quote=“Pietro”][quote=“rebuiltcellars”]
That is a great insight. It is the same when you travel. My first time in Italy, I couldn’t believe how wonderful the wines were - I even brought some home with me. They didn’t have the same appeal outside their native air. And I could never understand why people raved about German beer until I tasted them in Germany.
[/quote]
So I won’t have the same experience sitting in my closet drinking my Kolsch (where I usually drink it) as I would ordering one in a cafe in Koln, sitting outside and overlooking the Rhine, staring at cans spilling out of dirndls, with aromas of sausages, pretzels, and hand-rolled cigarettes wafting past me?
[quote=“grainbelt”][quote=“Pietro”][quote=“rebuiltcellars”]
That is a great insight. It is the same when you travel. My first time in Italy, I couldn’t believe how wonderful the wines were - I even brought some home with me. They didn’t have the same appeal outside their native air. And I could never understand why people raved about German beer until I tasted them in Germany.
[/quote]
So I won’t have the same experience sitting in my closet drinking my Kolsch (where I usually drink it) as I would ordering one in a cafe in Koln, sitting outside and overlooking the Rhine, staring at cans spilling out of dirndls, with aromas of sausages, pretzels, and hand-rolled cigarettes wafting past me?
Woof.[/quote]
experience no…same beer same taste… yes[/quote]
Perception (including what you think you are tasting) is altered by your surroundings.
Absolutely agree - you are drinking the same thing, but your mind is making you think differently.[/quote]
no you are letting your mind think you are drinking something different.
Hope your not a beer judge…lol[/quote]
I am a beer judge. Your mind that you are supposedly able to disengage from is why beer judging is done at a cafeteria table with saltless saltines and not at the Hancock Building’s skybar.
Not to perpetuate this ridiculous conversation, but if you honestly think any sensory experience is not influenced by senses other than those at work perceiving the subject matter, then we can agree to disagree.
[quote]I am a beer judge. Your mind that you are supposedly willing to disengage from is why beer judging is done at a cafeteria table with saltless saltines and not at the Hancock Building’s skybar.
Not to perpetuate this ridiculous conversation, but if you honestly think any sensory experience is not influenced by senses other than those at work perceiving the subject matter, then we can agree to disagree.
The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.[/quote]
so then all the beer tastes worse because of the run down boring building your in…it should work both ways if your agreeing on it
so then all the beer tastes worse because of the run down boring building your in…it should work both ways if your agreeing on it[/quote]
It absolutely works both ways. Judging, tasting, and drinking (especially socially) are all very different things, and that’s why environmental variables are controlled in the former two.
so then all the beer tastes worse because of the run down boring building your in…it should work both ways if your agreeing on it[/quote]
It absolutely works both ways. Judging, tasting, and drinking (especially socially) are all very different things, and that’s why environmental variables are controlled in the former two.[/quote]
I had to double-check the URL in my browser address bar to make sure my connection to the NB forum hadn’t been hijacked and redirected a wine forum. :lol:
Sometimes we take this hobby a little too seriously (myself included).
The Berliner Weiss was one of their “thumbprint” beers, which means it’s probably not to be had anymore. Those are officially one time only affairs - even if they revisit a style a few years later it’s not necessarily the same recipe. Usually one of the ones they do every year is a sour, though.
Hinterland did one that’s also worth a try. Also limited release, but I’ve seen it on shelves as recently as last Friday.
[quote=“bunderbunder”]The Berliner Weiss was one of their “thumbprint” beers, which means it’s probably not to be had anymore. Those are officially one time only affairs - even if they revisit a style a few years later it’s not necessarily the same recipe. Usually one of the ones they do every year is a sour, though.
Hinterland did one that’s also worth a try. Also limited release, but I’ve seen it on shelves as recently as last Friday.[/quote]
No bells Berliner is available year round. Look it up.
