Five sour beers to seek out:
Russian River Beatification, 5.5% ABV
Russian River's "sonambic" is aggressively sour, exploding with grapefruit rind and finishing with a minerally, peppercorn-inflected bite.
New Belgium Tart Lychee, 8.5% ABV
From the Colorado brewery that introduced Americans to Belgian beer 21 years ago, a new take on an old style: French-oak-aged sour beer mellowed with a kiss of sweet, nutty litchi and earthy cinnamon.
Jolly Pumpkin La Roja, 7.2% ABV
Deep, dark and dirty, Michigan-made La Roja is earthy and moist, illuminated by sparkling shafts of lemon, cherry and sour plum.
Rodenbach Grand Cru, 6% ABV
This classic example of the Flemish take on sour beer (typically darker and fruitier than lambics) is rich and warming, like chocolate-covered cherries, with the sweet-and-sour, balsamic vinegar kick of acetic acid.
Allagash Resurgam, 6.6% ABV
Allagash blends one-, two- and three-year-old batches from its backwoods koelschip into this spectacular beer: bright and zesty, impossibly fresh-tasting, with wisps of flowers and earth, and a hint of strawberry shortcake.