Sour beer covers a broad family with acidity as the common thread — Berliner Weisse, Gose, Flanders Red, Oud Bruin, Lambic, Fruited Kettle Sour and wild-fermented farmhouse variants. Each sub-style has its own balance of acidity, salt, fruit and wood. The hopIQ Score for Sour evaluates each beer against its sub-style reference and weights medals from style-judged competitions.
Currently leading the ranking: Oude Geuze Boon (Brouwerij Boon), Original Ritterguts Gose (Ritterguts Gose) and Duchess Rouge (4 Pines Brewing Company). Brouwerij De Molen places 3 of the top 10.
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 860 beers from 305 breweries.
Top 5 of 25
ABV
7.0%
Bitterness
Mild
Colour
golden 6
A fresh nose, more fruity than spicy, with grapefruit, apricot and oak; on the palate wood, vanilla and nuts, a mild tartness and a soft, rounded body, then a long, dry, intense finish. The lambic is brewed from 60 % malt and 40 % wheat,…A fresh nose, more fruity than spicy, with grapefruit, apricot and oak; on the palate wood, vanilla and nuts, a mild tartness and a soft, rounded body, then a long, dry, intense finish. The lambic is brewed from 60 % malt and 40 % wheat, matures entirely in oak and is blended from one-, two- and three-year-old batches. Boon has made this Oude Geuze since 1975. 7 % ABV.
Original Ritterguts Gose#89 worldwide
ABV
4.7%
Bitterness
Mild
Colour
golden 5
The house Gose, brewed from barley and wheat malts with coriander and salt, fermented openly with the brand's own Gose yeast and given a second, lactic fermentation before a long cold maturation. It pours hazy gold with brisk carbonation.…The house Gose, brewed from barley and wheat malts with coriander and salt, fermented openly with the brand's own Gose yeast and given a second, lactic fermentation before a long cold maturation. It pours hazy gold with brisk carbonation. The nose is lemony and tart, with green apple and a hint of white grape; coriander adds a citrus-peppery edge, bready wheat sits underneath, and a clear saline note lingers on the lips after a dry, sour finish. The acidity is round rather than sharp.
Duchess Rouge#107 worldwide
ABV
5.4%
Bitterness
Mild
Colour
deep amber 15
A Flanders red ale blended from fresh American oak foeders and cabernet barrels. Wild fermentation brings sour cherry and red berry over a malt base of caramel and dark bread, with oak, vanilla and a faint leathery note from the long…A Flanders red ale blended from fresh American oak foeders and cabernet barrels. Wild fermentation brings sour cherry and red berry over a malt base of caramel and dark bread, with oak, vanilla and a faint leathery note from the long ageing. The acidity is moderate and rounded rather than sharp, bitterness is negligible at 10 IBU, and the finish is tart and dry with the wood holding on longest.
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Passionfruit Smash#152 worldwide
ABV
4.2%
Bitterness
Mild
Colour
pale gold 3
A gose brewed with real passionfruit on a base of pilsner and wheat malt. The fruit leads the nose with a tart tropical sharpness, while the salt addition traditional to the style sits underneath and keeps the finish clean rather than…A gose brewed with real passionfruit on a base of pilsner and wheat malt. The fruit leads the nose with a tart tropical sharpness, while the salt addition traditional to the style sits underneath and keeps the finish clean rather than sweet. Riwaka and Mosaic add lime and a light stone-fruit note, and a Belgian witbier yeast leaves a soft spice behind the acidity. Brewed year round.
5
Lichtenhainer Ritterguts Weisse#227 worldwide
ABV
4.3%
Bitterness
Mild
Colour
golden 5
A revival of the sour beer tradition of Jena, top-fermented from barley malt and oak-smoked wheat malt, with no salt or coriander; the brewery lists it as a Lichtenhainer, a historical Thuringian style. Straw yellow with a light haze, it…A revival of the sour beer tradition of Jena, top-fermented from barley malt and oak-smoked wheat malt, with no salt or coriander; the brewery lists it as a Lichtenhainer, a historical Thuringian style. Straw yellow with a light haze, it combines subtle wood smoke with a velvety lactic sourness. The smoke stays in the background like a distant campfire, with a faint lemony tartness and grainy wheat beneath it. Lively carbonation lifts the body, and the finish is refreshingly sour and short.
Ranks 6–10
6
German Sparkle Party#299 worldwide
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.
7
Wild Red Ale#322 worldwide
A red ale in the Flanders tradition, soured slowly and matured for eighteen months in ex-pinot-noir barrels. It pours a deep ruby, and a malt bill drawing on European specialty malts leaves enough residual sweetness to carry the acid. Dark…A red ale in the Flanders tradition, soured slowly and matured for eighteen months in ex-pinot-noir barrels. It pours a deep ruby, and a malt bill drawing on European specialty malts leaves enough residual sweetness to carry the acid. Dark fruit runs through aroma and palate: black plum, tart berries and sour cherry, with a creamy vanilla note taken from the oak. The acidity is sharp and tangy with a balsamic edge, and the finish is long and dry.
8
Walla Walla#330 worldwide
A zingy kettle sour built on Irish rhubarb and fresh ginger, both given to the brew by the brewery rather than added afterwards. The rhubarb brings a sharp, green tartness and the ginger a warm bite behind it; the colour is pale yellow and…A zingy kettle sour built on Irish rhubarb and fresh ginger, both given to the brew by the brewery rather than added afterwards. The rhubarb brings a sharp, green tartness and the ginger a warm bite behind it; the colour is pale yellow and hops play no part in the aroma. Walla Walla appears for early summer and has been decorated twice in the field beer class.
9
Geuze Mariage Parfait#332 worldwide
Grapefruit and lime open, followed by vanilla, cloves and oak, a whiskey-like phenolic edge, a mild wine-like acidity and a touch of young apple. Soft and full-bodied, unsweetened and unfiltered, 8 % ABV. Mostly three-year-old lambic from…Grapefruit and lime open, followed by vanilla, cloves and oak, a whiskey-like phenolic edge, a mild wine-like acidity and a touch of young apple. Soft and full-bodied, unsweetened and unfiltered, 8 % ABV. Mostly three-year-old lambic from the brewery's oldest barrels, foeders built between 1883 and 1914, carries the blend. Frank Boon created this geuze in 1977.
10
False Creek Peach Sour#336 worldwide
False Creek Peach Sour is a golden, gose-style fruit sour. Juicy peach flavour meets a bright, citrus-like tartness, and the brewery describes the balance as sweet and tangy rather than sharply acidic. The body is light, the finish clean…False Creek Peach Sour is a golden, gose-style fruit sour. Juicy peach flavour meets a bright, citrus-like tartness, and the brewery describes the balance as sweet and tangy rather than sharply acidic. The body is light, the finish clean and bright. Cans are seasonal, sold from March to September, while the draft version is available all year.
The taste landscape
Of the 25 top beers, 5 lean malt-forward and 14 lean hop-forward.