This beer style has been inspired by the theme of the 5 th edition of the Beer Geek Madness – the North Side. The freezing north brings to mind nothing but sour taste and its typical fruit … cranberry! The powerful sourish flavour and bitterness of cranberry fruit make it a perfect ingredient for Beer Geek Sour Ale ! Cranberry is mostly grown in the North: Canada, the USA and Latvia. Cranberries are the source of vitamins and antioxidants, which works to the advantage as the beer stays fresh longer. And for a Beer Geek, that means a powerful flavour!

	SALAMANDER Cranberry Sour Ale Take a trip to the North and enjoy a stronger taste of the sour top-fermentation beer brewed with cranberry juice. The beer’s clear sour profile has been produced by selected lactic acid bacteria and balanced with cereal foundation. Cranberry juice brings out the sour taste and accounts for a refreshing fruity flavour and unique bitterness.

Style

It is an exceptionally fruity and sour beer with strong extract (as for sour beers) of over 15 plato, strong acidity produced by lactic acid bacteria and light in colour as the extract comes to a large extent from wheat oats. Cranberries, added as pressed cranberry juice, intensify its sour taste and bring out characteristic bitterness.

Malts/extract:

Very light grist consisting of Pilsner malts, wheat malts, and wheat oats which produce a neutral base to balance bacteria acidity and a fruity profile of cranberries.

Hops:

Sour taste intensifies the feel of bitter hop compounds. For this reason, we have limited hopping considering the extract. Yet, most of the hops have been added at the end of the boiling process to safe the citric flavour and aroma of the American hop Citra.

Bacteria:

Lactic acid bacteria are the defining characteristic of this beer style. Giving beer its sour flavour, lactic acid bacteria may be found in bread starter, kefirs and yoghurts. They produce lactic acid which intensifies the sour flavour and refreshing qualities.

Cranberry juice:

100% natural pressed cranberry juice without preservatives or sweeteners added to beer at the fermentation stage to preserve the powerful taste and aroma of cranberries.

• Style: Fruit Sour Ale
• Parameters
  • Extract: 15,5 %
  • Alcohol: 6,5 %
  • IBU: 25
• Ingredients:
  • Malts: barley malt, wheat malt, wheat oats
  • Hops: Bitterness: Columbus(US) Aromatic: Citra (US)
  • Yeast Strain: US-05
  • Extra ingredients: pressed cranberry juice
• Colour: light red (rose), slightly cloudy
• Aromas: fruity (cranberry, lemon, red grapefruit, raspberry), cereal
• Mouthfeel:
  • fruity, sparking
  • cereal,
  • sour

• Serving temperature: 8-12 ⁰C
• Glass: Sniffter, Sensoric, Shaker, Tumbler (Tumb)
• Foodpairing:
  

  dishes: Ciopono or Gumbo,

  Cheeses: “oscypek” salted sheep-milk cheese, “bryndza” type cheese

  Deserts: shortbread crust base cheesecake with cranberry