Thus spoke Zoetzuur, "Sweet & Sour."
Whenever I see this bottle on the shelf, I think of Nietzsche's token Persian prophet from his epic work, Zarathustra, which comes across in English as Zoroaster. It sounds uncannily like Zoetzuur. While Zarathustra represents perhaps the rediscovered and empowered self of man, Zoetzuur, from the Flemish, means "sweet and sour," which actually reminds me quite a bit of the attitude of the Nihilist's great philosophical work.
But how was the beer?
I'll skip to the resolution of the review and state, It was fantastic! The reason I liked Zoetzuur so much, was due to it's incredible balance and mildness, while maintaining considerable complexity. This would be a great beer to serve to a young beer geek as an introduction into sour beers.
This beer, which utilizes brettanomyces as well as classic Belgian yeast strain(s?) has a simple grain bill: Pilsner, Munich, and Caramel malts. What is interesting, is that the brewery--DeProef--deviates from tradition and uses Tomohawk hops, a Pacific Northwest hop, in addition to Saaz hops. Additionally, black cherry juice was utilized to maintain equilibrium. It always amazes me how Belgian breweries can achieve such complexity with such simple ingredients.
The Pour:
The beer pours an beautiful burnt umber. ...
