Tonight I am trying a beer perfect for this warm weather. Berliner Weiss styles to me are the perfect combat for warm weather. The beer I am trying tonight is the brewery's first attempt at any sour. First let's find out more about the brewery.
The brewery I am sampling from today is called Fordham and Old Dominion Brewing Company. This brewery has a unique history. Fordham Brewing was founded in 1995, and paid homage to Benjamin Fordham who was given a charter in 1703 to establish a brewery in port city. Fordham started to gain notoriety in the chesapeake area and they decided to relocate to Dover, Delaware, in 2003. On the Old Dominion side they were founded in the craft beer revolution of 1989. They started in Ashburn, Virginia. They were quickly named one of the Top 50 breweries. In 2007, these two breweries combined forces.
"Throughout our history we have always believed in two things: the beers we make and the people who drink them." Commitment to the past and looking towards the present/future. Fordham and Old Dominion Brewing Company are located in Dover, Delaware.
Look at the design on The 11th Sour
Time for the star of the night, the beer I will be sampling is called The 11th Sour, Berliner Weiss style ale. Fordham 11th Sour has an alcohol by volume or ABV of 3.8% and an IBU or bitterness of 8. This ale is a kettle sour aged on Concord grapes.
Appearance of The 11th Sour
Let's dive on into the aroma and the appearance. 11th Sour, has a pinkish purple hue appearance. The Berliner Weiss almost looks like a rose champagne. The aroma of the 11th Sour is just as unique as the color of the beer. I noticed the sour wheat aroma right away. There is a slight pilsner aroma to this Berliner. The next note is the concord grape aroma that is paired with an acidic aroma. The aroma is pulling me into the beer more and more. The head or foam of this beer after you pour, it lingers a top the glass. Then it settles and leaves a thin layer of foam around the top of the glass.
I took my first sip and I instantly enjoyed this brew. The taste notes are delightful and follow up the aroma. The first taste note, I noticed was the concord grape aroma. The grape really comes through in the tasting. Then you notice the lactobacillus or sour notes in the taste. It is refreshings and comes through in the light body of The 11th Sour. The more I drank of this ale, I noticed that the sour notes were up front and they mellow out to a balanced finishing taste.
Check out The 11th Sour.
I really enjoyed The 11th Sour, and the ale did proper by Berliner Weiss. Unique take on a Berliner Weiss with Concord grapes. I think the grapes were a great addition to this brew. You really are able to pull out the grape notes in the aroma and the taste. If you are looking to explore this style of beers than this is a beer you might want to start with. I think that breweries are being challenged to explore different beers they might not normally do, some are not successful in that. Fordham did succeed with their take on a Berliner Weiss. The beer is crisp, tart, sour and delightful.
Check out Fordham and Old Dominion Brewing Company out on social media and their website:
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