Oct 20, 2018
Wild and sour beers continue to grow in popularity. From "simple" sour beers like Berliner Weisse and Gose to complex, spontaneously fermented ales with funky, earthy, cheesy character. There's a huge variety out there.
When you think of SweetWater Brewery, you may not think of sour beers - but you should. Nick Burgoyne, Lead Brewer and Blender at SweetWater's The Woodlands focuses on brewing wild, sour, funky and barrel-aged beers. He recently won a Silver Medal for Cambium (an American Wild Ale) at the US Open Beer Championship.
Orpheus Brewing opened in Atlanta in 2014. Brewmaster and President Jason Pellett had a goal to introduce an approachable, sour beer that anyone could afford and his Atlanta (Tart Plum Saison) did just that. In the past 4 years, Orpheus has brewed many more sour beers, and recently won Bronze for Lambic-style Ales at the Great American Beer Fest.
Burgoyne and Pellett join us this week to talk about the adventure of expanding the acceptance of sour beers. We talk simple kettle sours like Berliner Weisse and Gose, and more complex sours like Lambic and Gueze. We also discuss the challenges facing American brewers as they mimic these styles and try to name them without offending traditional Belgian brewers, and how that brought about the move towards the Méthode Traditionnelle under the guidance of HORAL (High Council for Artisinal Lambic Beers). As we sip through several beers, the conversation moves to the process of traditional spontaneous brewing and blending sour beers.
The show was taped at SweetWater Brewery during ZCON Atlanta's brewery night. We talk with Z Car Club Association President Chris Karl about Z Cars, the club and ZCON - their annual national convention.
Guests: Nick Burgoyne,
SweetWater Woodlands | Jason Pellett, Orpheus Brewing | Chris
Karl, ZCCA - The Z-Car Club Association
Topic: Sour
and Wild Beer Primer and intro to Z-Cars
Episode Guide