Well dear readers, it’s been a minute. We’ve been busy here working on setting up new interviews and new content, but also just some self-care. That said, we’re back to review, brew, and talk beer for you!

Today, we’re taking a look at Finch Beer Co.’s Taco Cat, a kettle sour. But what exactly is a kettle sour? Technically, it’s more of a process and less of a style (perhaps in the same way that lagering makes lagers…). In this process, brewers inoculate unfermented wort with lactobacillus in the kettle, hence the name. After a few hours and some activity, the wort is reheated, killing the lactobacillus, but not removing the clean tartness it imparted. From there, the fermentation process is largely the same as it would be otherwise – new yeast is introduced to the chilled, sour wort and life goes on.

This produces an extremely clean tartness in the beer. In the case of Taco Cat, that light tartness follows the life cycle of a sip from front to back. Even on the nose, we smell a faint but pungent citrus. Think of the last lemon/lime sourpatch kid in a bag and you’d get pretty close to how this smells.

In addition to the tartness, Taco Cat has pleasant hints of other softer citrus like peaches and orange, with a dry white wine finish. That tartness does something else, for me at least; it quickly cleanses the palate. It does not linger, and quickly washes back.

It is pretty obvious to me that I’d be able to drink more of this golden, slightly hazy sour in greater quantities that most other sours. I’m a huge fan of sours, but I also typically need to carry antacids on me when I plan on having more than one. This isn’t the case with Taco Cat.

Now, dear reader, please forgive me again for the infrequency of our posts recently. However, we will make it up to you. Until then, cheers!