Phillips Brewing Dinosour Jurassic Pack

If you’ve been following my beer writing for a while, you will know that I am not the biggest fan of the early 2020s trend of so-called ‘sour beer’ production. Part of my objection has been based upon the fact that, when properly executed, such beers are not ‘sour’ so much as they are tart, a distinction I have previously explained by referencing the difference between the juice of a fresh lemon—tart—and that of one that has been sitting in the back of the fridge for several weeks—sour.

But even more than that possible pedantry, I object to the very simplistic nature of the majority of such beers, which are made via the process of kettle souring, or in other words, the pre-boil acidification of wort via the introduction of lactobacillus or other micro-organisms. (Subsequent boiling sterilizes the wort for fermentation and prevents further microbial impact.) In my view, kettle souring tends to produce beers that are very ‘one note’ in nature, which is to say they speak to whatever flavouring might be added—typically fruit—within a tart and tangy character.

In contrast to this is the long barrel fermentation and conditioning of mixed and spontaneous fermentation beers, which produces greatly increased complexities, but obviously takes much more time and effort to produce. That all such beers should be grouped under the single blanket category of ‘sour beer’ is, to me, anathema.

There are exceptions, of course. The Brazilian style of kettle soured and fruit-flavoured beers known as Catharina sours presents such vibrancy and freshness of flavour that they have almost instant appeal, although their very nature requires consumption close to where they were brewed. I have had North American fruit ‘sours’ that approach this Brazilian standard, but only rarely. For whatever reason, perhaps having something to do with the culinary approach many Latin Americans take towards brewing, Brazilians are, if not unique, then certainly exceptional in their ability to consistently produce such beers.

Which brings us to the Phillips quartet of Dinosours. Fruit flavoured both pre- and post-fermentation, the best of them evoke my time spent sipping Catharina sours in Blumenau and São Paulo, while the lesser flavours in the pack tend more towards the North American standard.  

Stone Fruit Sour (4.2%): Hazy, sandy gold in colour, the aroma explodes from the glass with principally apricot notes, but also fresh and canned peaches, plus a slight whiff of citrus. The moderate acidity on the palate entry is accompanied by peach and apricot notes, which blossom on the mid-palate to a bigger and fresher fruit body with a full and round stone fruit character, accompanied by an underlying citrus note, more mandarin orange than lemon. The only lightly cloying finish changes again to a more lemony citrus. With fruit flavours are fresh and lively, this is definitely more Catharina Sour than it is flavoured kettle sour, which makes it a very pleasant summertime quaffer and the stand-out of this pack. 80

Blackberry Sour Ale (4.2%): Hazy and reddish-purple in colour, the nose is much less overtly fruity than the Stone Fruit, with soft and perfumey blackberry notes, a whiff of lemon zest, and a very faint suggestion of earthy grain. Blackberry dominates the flavour, but as in the aroma, rather gently, with lemony notes balancing and the finish drying out admirably. While certainly quaffable, this is more in line with a North American kettle sour with a more simple and straight-forward fruit component and a tartness that is relatively subdued, serving more to moderate the fruit sweetness than to contribute a more significant tanginess. 68

Blueberry Pomegranate (4.2%): Rich purple in colour, this one brings us back to a bursting-out-of-the-glass aroma, with pomegranate emerging first, but quickly subsumed by an intense blueberry character the speaks equally to fresh juice and blueberry pie filling. Frankly, it’s hard to get anything else out of the aroma, but digging deep there appears to be a slight earthy pepper note. The flavour definitely speak first to blueberry, with a pretty significant retro-olfactory effect, but the pomegranate asserts itself in a positive fashion during the mid-palate, drying the fruity sweetness to a bone dry finish with lingering pomegranate notes. While fairly simply in structure – both of the named fruits are present, but not much more – this has a fresh and fruity character which will not be denied. Where the Stone Fruit is more Catharina Sour and the Blackberry more fruited kettle sour, this resides happily somewhere in between. 75

Raspberry Lime (4.2%): Peachy orange coloured, on the nose this offers exactly what it says on the can – first raspberry, then lime, then the two in harmony, with a hint of sweet vanilla lingering in the background. As with the aroma, the palate is raspberry up front, followed by some fresh lime notes – juice and zest – then a drying acidity leading to a quenching finish. While hardly complex, this has a freshness about its fruit flavour that again puts me in mind of the Catharina sours of Brazil. 73

(Full pack score: 75; $24 - $26)