What is a Sour IPA?

Sour IPA is a style of beer that combines the tartness of a sour ale with the hop profile of an IPA. Sour ales are tangy and mouth watering. They have a similar acidity to lemonade or orange juice, balancing tart and sweet. IPAs find themselves in a different place on the beer spectrum, focusing on hops: a flowering plant that adds a citrusy, earthy bitterness to beer. Everyone makes their Sour IPA a little different, and that’s what gives every brewery’s effort its exciting, complex, mouth puckering taste.

Hudson Valley Brewery's approach to Sour IPA is unique, in the use of our house culture during brewing. Cultures are a collection of microbes that make fermentation happen. Our Sour IPA culture is a distinctive blend of yeast and bacteria that creates the acidity we crave. Our brewers have been developing this since far before the brewery opened, and we add this culture to the beer early in the brewing process, where it converts some sugars into lactic acid. After the culture has done its work, we hop the Sour IPA as we would our standard IPA. We find this plays with the fruit additions and acidity in the perfect way, accenting the rich floral and fruity notes from the hops (rather than bitterness).

Sour IPA acquires its distinctive tartness from the souring process. The lactobacillus culture plays a pivotal role in the development of the beer. Use of this microorganism swiftly creates acidity, which is a key building block in the profile of flavor. Beyond lactobacillus, fruit and gentle additions of milk sugar leave behind residual sugars. This gives the finished product its signature creamy and smooth mouthfeel and body.

We often think of our Sour IPAs as inspired by the precision and artistry of cocktails. This comes down to finding the perfect balance of acidity, hops, and drinkability. We aim to make Sour IPAs that offer nostalgic flavors that are easy to approach and recognize. One of our classic Sour IPAs, Amulet, has some of our favorite tasting notes. We think it tastes like Gushers, wild berry Go-Gurt, or Lambrusco. Sharing tasting notes makes the experience more accessible and enjoyable, and we love when visitors to the brewery share theirs with us as well. You don’t even have to be into beer to enjoy the flavors and experience of a Sour IPA!