Sweet & Sour

Even though there’s a shutdown, many of the 30+ breweries on the Raleigh Beer Trail 2020 are still open for online orders and curbside pickup…and you can still get your Raleigh Beer Trail passport stamped for visiting!

Sour beers are a less hoppy, more funky-tasting category of brew that have been making their mark in and around Raleigh. Below, you’ll find a short overview of some of the many sours you can find at breweries and restaurants—we look forward to getting out and about and drinking them all again!—encompassing a range of tart and tasty flavors that even the casual beer drinker can appreciate. You can find some of these sours at local grocery stores including Whole Foods, Lowes Foods and Wegmans and at national bottle shops such as Total Wine. Keep an eye out for curbside takeout and delivery programs at these stores, as well as at local restaurants, bottle shops and bars that might still be open to sell you a six-pack—to go, of course—or a bottle or two.

Rosette Rosé-Inspired Ale* and Piglette Grisette* by Brewery Bhavana

If rosé and beer had a baby, Brewery Bhavana’s Rosette would be their delightful-tasting offspring. The rosé-inspired ale is bubbly, floral and fruity, just like your favorite bottle of sparkling. Meanwhile, the Piglette Grisette has a clean, subtle sour taste that doesn’t stray too far from a light beer. 

Wounds That Cannot Heal and Ascent of the Blessed at Burial Beer Co.

Within the plant-filled Burial Beer Co. at Transfer Company, you’ll find a variety of tasty sour beers featuring dark names. The Wounds That Cannot Heal sour mostly takes on the flavor of a golden ale with a hint of citrus, while the Ascent of the Blessed sour carries fruity notes of wine.

R&D Passionfruit Gose* 

R&D’s Passionfruit Gose is great for those just getting into sours. It has a mild fruitiness that’s crisp and delightful—perfect for easy sipping.

Cranberry Gose by Clouds Brewing 

This punchy pink gose is known as a kettle sour, a style of sour that’s brewed in a stainless-steel kettle to produce an exceptionally tart taste. Clouds’ refreshing cranberry version is both fruity and tangy.

Necromancy by Wye Hill

One sip of Wye Hill’s Necromancy tiki sour and you’ll be transported to a sandy beach on a tropical island somewhere far away. The unique small batch sour beer gets its tropical flavors from fruit juices and rum-infused spices such as allspice, clove and star anise, resulting in a tart and fruity taste that’s almost too good to be true.

Total Protonic Reversal by Trophy Brewing Company

This dry-hopped Norwegian raw ale is the first sour to come out of Trophy’s new sour beer program at its Morgan Street location. The beer is light and refreshing, with just a hint of sour and herb notes.

*Available in cans or bottles.