The famous beer author Pete Brown describes Lambic and Gueueze style beers, sometimes commonly called sours, in the following way – ‘Instead of adding laboratory-cultured yeasts to start the fermentation of sugar into alcohol, lambic brewers rely on the natural yeasts in the air around them.’ Pete would know. I love reading his books and he knows beer.
Making beer this way was is an old school way of fermenting your brew. Back in the early brewing day taste was partially dependent on what bacteria fell into your beer. That would start the fermentation process and affect the taste of your wort or alcohol stew. The luckiest brewers came up with something different and delicious.
Below are three brewers the Dude of Food recommends you should begin your sour beer journey by investigating first. Feel free to write to me at facebook.com/dudeoffood about your discoveries. Prost.