Lets start 2014 on a funky note. And I mean that in the best possible way. Funky sour beer challenges your palate with wonderful tart and acidic flavors.
In Hawaii we have access to a limited amount of the Belgian-style wild ale Lolita, one of four "Sour Sisters" by Goose Island Brewery, founded in 1988 in Chicago and only recently distributed in Honolulu. In 2011 Goose Island was purchased by the global beer company Anheuser-Busch InBev, which allowed the small regional brewery to greatly expanded its production and distribution.
Goose Island has a long history of aging beers in wine and spirits barrels. Last year they released the "Sour Sisters" Gillian, Lolita, Juliet and Halia. Each beer was aged for up to a year in used wine barrels with a different fruit.
Lolita is a rose-colored Belgian Pale Ale that was aged with 50 pounds of fresh raspberries in each barrel. Along with the wild yeast from the skins of those raspberries, the brewers added Brettanomyces yeast, or "Brett." Brett is found on the skin of most fruits and lives in the wood of barrels, surviving by eating the natural sugars in the oak.
Brewers typically take special precautions to avoid Brett in their beers because of the distinct flavors it creates. But when they carefully create recipes using Brett, the results can be unique and appealing. Brett is most commonly found in Belgian styles of beer.
Lolita starts with a pungently tart aroma of raspberries, sour cherries, white grapes and yeast-derived "funk," or a ripe, earthy quality.
The addition of raspberries helps create a whitish-pink head that quickly dissipates. Sweetness upfront fades to reveal bursts of raspberries along with a lemony tartness and some lingering acidity that finishes dry.
This is a beer that can be aged for more than five years. The residual Brett in the bottle will slowly metabolize complex sugars, and the beer will develop more flavors over time, like a fine wine. But if you don’t have that kind of patience, it’s a great beer to consume now as well.
Sour funky beers are not for everyone. They offer strong and bold flavors that some love and others loathe.
Lolita is a great entry into sour beers and worth a try. Find 765 ml bottles for $20 or more at Real A Gastropub, Pint + Jigger, Whole Foods Kailua and Shiroma’s Wine and More.
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Tim Golden shares his obsession with all things craft beer monthly in the Star-Advertiser food section. See his blog, "Beer in Hawaii," at beerinhawaii.com.
