Pike 51 Brewing Co: Growing Sour Program

Hudsonville Pike 51 Brewing Co. is a small brewery also connected to the Hudsonville Winery in, you guessed it, Hudsonville, Michigan.

It may not have enormous brewing capacity like Bell’s or Founders, but Pike 51 is absolutely worthy of being on everyone’s radar for their killer brews. In particular, I’ve discovered a love for their small but growing souring program.

“Sour” beers are sometimes mouth-puckeringly sour or have more of a balanced tartness to them. This component provides depth in beers that is so vastly different from all other styles. They are the ultimate pairing tool and are even some of the best “gateway” beers for consumers who are looking to explore the insane medium that is craft beer for the first time. Sour beers are also hard as hell to wrangle and create, even if you are being extremely careful in the brewhouse. The yeast used to create these brews are finicky and love to infect batches of beer where they are not welcome.

So far it seems that Pike 51 has taken

…