In the last two years (!!) at Vault City Brewing we’ve created some weird, wonderful and downright whacky brews under the mantle of Modern Sour Beer.
Over time we’ve come to realise that within this broad category there are three directions which we inevitably head in when we are creating a recipe; session, serious & silly.
With a recent shift in gears and we’ve decided to narrow in this focus and create actual ranges within our beers. Guiding our creative inspirations and structuring our releases for the benefit of our brewers and customers alike, here’s how we break them down.
Session Sours
Smaller bottle, lower ABV, same massive flavour. We’ve found heaps of inspiration for our Session Sour series in soft drinks and other beverages we like to enjoy staying refreshed with. Born out of summer drinking we’ve adopted this adaptation of our Modern Sour Beer into our full-time production as the crushable, by the 2/3 offering in our line-up. More a 6 pack at the beach than a 1/6 of a pint at the bottle share. To reflect the, we think, very different drinking experience we’ve opted for smaller 330ml bottles which also lets us pass on a lower price to bottle shops and bars. Lots of wins!
Serious Sours
This is the ‘category’ we’ve stuck to for nearly two years, almost without fail (there are a couple of notable exceptions but who’s counting? Ok, Untappd is counting…). What some would call high octane, our sour beers have always had a relatively high abv. We are forging ahead with making these balanced, approachable, and crazily fruited sour beers in the way we know and love. To call these beers our ‘normal’ sours felt like a disservice. They’re fun, for sure, but they’re also serious Modern Sour Beers. And remember, everything is session-able if you believe in yourself.
Silly Sours
Upwards once again on the ABV scale, our ‘Imperial’ Modern Sour Beers have given us the most renown along our journey with some whacky combinations of flavours leaving the brewery… Here sit the heaviest hitting beers that bring out a laugh at the brewery when the concept is thought of. ‘Can we actually do that? Let’s find out!’ Inspiration has sprung up from baking, pastries and crazy combinations that might just work. Embodying our madder ideas we don't shy away from masses of fruit and the use of herbs or spices. With the ABV tag to match, we're pushing the boundaries of what Modern Sour Beer can be.
From here on out we’ll be rotating through these three ranges for each release out of Vault City Brewing's doors. Roughly every two weeks we will have three new beers to unveil, one corresponding to each category mentioned. We hope this will provide fun and interesting line ups on the shelves and taps while showcasing a full spectrum of what is possible when brewing Modern Sour Beer.
Cheers,
Andy & Team VC x