Beer Review Roundup: Sours from Rogue, Prairie, Tallgrass, and Yazoo
It’s time for another beer review roundup. Today I’m taking a look at four sour ales that are very different from one another.
Rogue Paradise Pucker (Newport, OR)
ABV: 6%
Fruity and sour, solid and fun. Nothing special, but still tasty. Not much in the way of depth, complexity, or surprises. Enjoyable, but pretty mediocre.
Grade: C+
Prairie Artisan Ales Apricot Funk (Tulsa, OK)
ABV: 6.3%
I love the combination of apricot + sour in general, so I’m enjoying this, but it’s not as great as I’d hoped. Not much in the way of complexity, and not as crisply sour as I’d like. There is an interesting touch of bitterness on the backend of the palate which seems out of place at first, but actually rescues this from mediocrity. Still, Tin Man Damascene is a better version of this style, and cheaper too.
Grade: B
Tallgrass Key Lime Pie (Manhattan, KS)
ABV: 4.2%
Key lime pie? Yep, definitely tastes like key lime pie. Overly sweet, artificial key lime pie. This is… not good, I’m sorry to say. It’s just way too sickly sweet and overbearing. Barely sour. No depth. This is beer for people who don’t like beer. I wish that beers like this did not exist—this is the type of beer that could ultimately destroy craft beer in America.
Grade: D
Yazoo Embrace the Funk Lichtenhainer (Nashville, TN)
ABV: 3.9%
It seems like every time I post beer reviews, I include something from Yazoo. This is not intentional, but Yazoo continues to impress with their recent ETF releases, and I can’t help but write about them. It’s funny, it wasn’t all that long ago that I loved to hate on Yazoo… now it seems like I constantly sing their praises. Lichtenhainer is an old and unusual style of smoked and sour beer. I don’t usually like smoked beers, although I’ve never had one in the Lichtenhainer style. I didn’t have big expectations for this one, but I ended up being very pleasantly surprised. The smokiness is perfectly balanced out by a sweet tartness, along with a hint of citrus, resulting in a wonderfully complex, unique experience. It’s not all that sour, but nicely tart. This beer is not for everyone, but if you’re willing to be challenged, it’s very rewarding. It also goes very well beside a smoky single malt whisky. I love this beer. After having a sample on tap the other day, I immediately bought a four pack. And then I bought another four pack today. Yeah, I’ve been praising Yazoo a lot lately, so let’s balance it out—Yazoo’s standard (non-ETF) line is boring and filled with mediocrity, and I can’t imagine ever again buying their standard beers if there were other options available. But their ETF line is wonderful and worth seeking out.
Grade: A
Questions about my scoring system? Refer to the Review Method & Scoring Scale page.
