American craft sour is a post-2010 explosion. The 41 US sours on this ranking span nearly every sub-style the category contains: 5 Gueuze (American interpretations of the Belgian blended-Lambic style), 5 Belgian Sour, 5 Gose (revival of the Leipzig salt-coriander tradition), 4 Sour Ale, 3 Fruited Sour Ale, 2 Berliner Weisse, and a wide tail of Fruited Smoothie Sours, Mixed-Culture Golden Ales, Sour Witbier, Fruited Gose, Earl Grey Sour, Guava Currant Sour, Pumpkin Sour Ale (Cacao, Oak-Aged), and Flanders Red Ale. American craft brewers have adopted every established sour tradition and added several that never existed as national styles.
Currently leading the ranking: German Sparkle Party (10 Barrel Brewing), Coolship Resurgam (Allagash Brewing Company) and Dragon Fandango (Toppling Goliath Brewing Company).
How this ranking works
The hopIQ Score judges every beer against its style first: it rewards medals from competitions that judge within style categories and deducts points where a beer measurably deviates from its style reference. Community ratings add to that. Non-alcoholic excluded. No paid placement — order follows the data alone. Ranking spans 168 beers from 63 breweries.
Top 5 of 50
ABV
4.0%
Bitterness
Mild
Colour
pale gold 3
German Sparkle Party is a Berliner Weisse from 10 Barrel in Bend, Oregon: sour, tart, fruity and effervescent, often called the champagne of beers for its light and sparkly texture. The brewery calls it a little different, and the beer…German Sparkle Party is a Berliner Weisse from 10 Barrel in Bend, Oregon: sour, tart, fruity and effervescent, often called the champagne of beers for its light and sparkly texture. The brewery calls it a little different, and the beer took gold in the German-Style Sour Ale category at the 2024 World Beer Cup. 4% ABV.
Coolship Resurgam#323 worldwide
ABV
6.3%
Bitterness
Mild
Colour
golden 5
Coolship Resurgam is Allagash's unfruited blend of spontaneously fermented beer, first released in 2012. Pilsner malt, raw wheat and aged hops go into the wort, which cools overnight in an open coolship and picks up wild yeast and bacteria…Coolship Resurgam is Allagash's unfruited blend of spontaneously fermented beer, first released in 2012. Pilsner malt, raw wheat and aged hops go into the wort, which cools overnight in an open coolship and picks up wild yeast and bacteria from the Maine air before fermenting and maturing in French oak wine barrels. One-, two- and three-year-old batches are then blended. Apricot, lemon zest and candied fruit lead the aroma, followed by tropical fruit, a light earthy funk and oak, ending clean, tart and dry.
Dragon Fandango#334 worldwide
ABV
4.2%
Bitterness
Mild
Colour
golden 5
Tangy and tart, with a sweet-tart streak and a fruity character, this fruited sour combines mango, passion fruit and dragon fruit with a touch of Citra hop. At 4.2% ABV it sits far below the 6.2% of Caramel Apple Fandango. It took Gold at…Tangy and tart, with a sweet-tart streak and a fruity character, this fruited sour combines mango, passion fruit and dragon fruit with a touch of Citra hop. At 4.2% ABV it sits far below the 6.2% of Caramel Apple Fandango. It took Gold at the 2026 U.S. Open Beer Championship in the Other Kettle Sour class, and the brewery invites a glass raised to the fandango dance.
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Rosetta#342 worldwide
ABV
5.6%
Bitterness
Mild
Colour
golden 5
Rosetta plays tartness against sweetness, with cherry in the middle. It blends Oud Bruin, a tart Flemish brown ale, with Cuvee Brut, a cherry beer, and Liefmans in Belgium crafts it. The name honors Liefmans brewmaster Rosa Merckx, and the…Rosetta plays tartness against sweetness, with cherry in the middle. It blends Oud Bruin, a tart Flemish brown ale, with Cuvee Brut, a cherry beer, and Liefmans in Belgium crafts it. The name honors Liefmans brewmaster Rosa Merckx, and the beer stands at 5.6% ABV and 9 IBU. It returned in winter 2026 as a limited release.
5
Black Angel#427 worldwide
ABV
6.8%
Bitterness
Mild
Colour
golden 5
Tart cherries run through Black Angel, a 6.8% black sour ale aged in bourbon barrels on more than 1.5 pounds per gallon of Michigan Montmorency cherries. It rests in the barrels for about nine months and is then blended for complexity.…Tart cherries run through Black Angel, a 6.8% black sour ale aged in bourbon barrels on more than 1.5 pounds per gallon of Michigan Montmorency cherries. It rests in the barrels for about nine months and is then blended for complexity. Gold in Wood/Barrel-Aged Fruited Sour at the 2024 U.S. Open Beer Championship.
Ranks 6–10
6
Coolship Red#451 worldwide
Coolship Red is a spontaneously fermented ale from Allagash's coolship program, aged on raspberries grown in Maine. The wort of Pilsner malt, 40 percent raw wheat and aged whole-leaf hops is inoculated overnight by the open air, then…Coolship Red is a spontaneously fermented ale from Allagash's coolship program, aged on raspberries grown in Maine. The wort of Pilsner malt, 40 percent raw wheat and aged whole-leaf hops is inoculated overnight by the open air, then ferments and matures in French oak wine barrels for more than two years before the fruit goes in for another four to five months. It pours bright red, with raspberry and oak in the nose. Tart raspberry carries the flavor, joined by dried apricot and a light funk, and the finish is sour and dry.
7
Riviera#478 worldwide
Riviera is a traditional Leipzig gose from 10 Barrel in Bend, Oregon, with a soft wheat malt body and a clean tartness. A tiny pinch of Ukrainian coriander adds an herbal and citrus aroma. The beer took silver in the German-Style Sour Ale…Riviera is a traditional Leipzig gose from 10 Barrel in Bend, Oregon, with a soft wheat malt body and a clean tartness. A tiny pinch of Ukrainian coriander adds an herbal and citrus aroma. The beer took silver in the German-Style Sour Ale category at the 2024 World Beer Cup. 5.3% ABV.
8
Red Angel#706 worldwide
Raspberry character runs through Red Angel, a 7% barrel-aged American sour ale that matures in puncheons on 1.5 pounds per gallon of whole raspberries. It is then refermented on another 2.5 pounds per gallon, which adds fresh berry…Raspberry character runs through Red Angel, a 7% barrel-aged American sour ale that matures in puncheons on 1.5 pounds per gallon of whole raspberries. It is then refermented on another 2.5 pounds per gallon, which adds fresh berry character: 4 pounds of fruit per gallon in total. Silver in Wood/Barrel-Aged Fruited Sour at the 2024 U.S. Open Beer Championship.
9
Wild Bear#736 worldwide
Tart cherries, oak and a touch of barnyard funk, then a crisp, tart flavor and an oaky finish that leaves the palate clean. Wild Bear has its origins in the fall seasonal Bruin, which gets Brettanomyces and Pediococcus and ages in new oak…Tart cherries, oak and a touch of barnyard funk, then a crisp, tart flavor and an oaky finish that leaves the palate clean. Wild Bear has its origins in the fall seasonal Bruin, which gets Brettanomyces and Pediococcus and ages in new oak barrels for over ten months; more recent versions spend 24 months in a 45HL foeder. 8.5% ABV, 9 IBU. It took Gold in the Brett Beer category at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival.
10
Gose#739 worldwide
A traditional German sour ale brewed with lactobacillus, salt, and coriander — refreshingly crisp with bright lemon notes and a vibrant salinity. Won back-to-back GABF gold medals in 2015 and 2016, the beer that put Reuben's on the map. Ranked on fit to the Sour reference, award history in style-judged competitions and community ratings.
The taste landscape
Of the 50 top beers, 3 lean malt-forward and 27 lean hop-forward.