Sour Beer in a mixed beer flight?

[Brompa]

OK, really a stupid question. If you were putting together a mixed beer tasting flight, where would you put a sour beer like Supplication?

For example;

Goose Island Matilda
New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red
Founders All Day IPA
Lawson's Finest Liquids - Sip of Sunshine
Russian River - Supplication

[BDawg]

This is FAR from a stupid question. Nearly every competition BOS table I've sat on goes through this exercise. you want to go lightest to heaviest, least palate intensity to greatest. Consider the flavors you will contrast with the next beer. You wouldn't want to put a Kolsch after a Russian Imperial Stout, for example.


I'd line them up this way:

Founders All Day IPA - Session IPA 4.7%
Lawson's Finest Liquids - Sip of Sunshine - American IPA 8%
Goose Island Matilda - Brett Belgian Pale Ale 7%
New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red - Kreik 4%
Russian River - Supplication - Flanders Brown Ale with Sour Cherries aged in a Pinot Noir Barrel = Lacto & Pedio 7%

My thought process is this:

Do the two IPAs first, session then American.

The only really questionable one to place in this lineup is the Matilda. The two cherry sours will taste sweeter and lighter than the Matilda, where the Brett character will dominate. I think it will be a better transition to go from the Brett to the fruit sours than the other way around.

finish up with the two cherry sours - NG first. It's smaller and has a cleaner lactic profile and is lower in alcohol. Finish with the Supplication.

Great lineup!

my .02

[brewinhard]

Wow Bdawg just broke it down perfectly (as usual). +1 to this! That man knows his brews.

[BDawg]

Thanks BH. <blush>

One other thing you should have on hand is some saltine crackers, or the little oyster crackers you eat with soup, or white bread so you can clean your palates between beers, esp before and after the Matilda, where the biggest flavor transitions happen (IPAs -> brett -> cherry sours) - unsalted crackers are best for this.

HTH-

[Ozwald]

Get a room.