47 of the Best Golden Sours, Blind-Tasted and Ranked

Learn about how we rate & review beers with our BJCP blind panel here


Left Coast Brewing Company Asylum (74)

“This Belgian-style tripel has a golden color and a relatively light body. It has a sweet and spicy, fruity aroma and flavor derived from our Belgian yeast strain. Asylum finishes with a subtle, warming character.”

Birds Fly South Ale Project Fat Ma (83)

"This golden brew was lagered for more than 2 months and hopped with Topaz and Sterling. Notes of stone fruit are balanced by a floral, peppery finish."

Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project Stay the Funk In (85)

“_Methode traditionelle_ spontaneous golden sour ale.”

AC Golden Brewing Company Peche (85)

“Our Peche relaxed in experienced oak barrels for nearly a year with several strains of Brettanomyces and various souring organisms. After it aged in the barrels, we added fresh, whole peaches from Palisade, Colorado.”

Suncrush Beer Tangerine Suncrush (85)

“A cold-conditioned sparkling ale, Suncrush is made with crushed fruit, matcha green tea (a natural source of caffeine and antioxidants), and natural flavors. Suncrush is also gluten- reduced and all-natural.”

Brasserie Dubuisson Scaldis Caractère (85)

“Surprising aromas of ripe fruits including banana, touches of ‘cuberdon’ sweets, and caramel.”

Springdale Beer Co. Desert Solitaire (86)

"Golden sour brewed with rye and spelt, aged in red and white wine barrels."

Single Hill Brewing Company Pêche (86)

“A blend of golden strong ale and young house sour, refermented with white peaches.”

Fort George Brewery The Optimist (86)

“With its radiant golden body, a lively buoyant head, and floral aroma, your glass will always be half-full.”

Crooked Run Brewing Persica (87)

“Mixed-fermentation golden sour, barrel-fermented, then heavily fruited with peaches.”

Vector Brewing Domus Persica Blend No. 2 (88)

“Golden sour aged in French oak barrels. Conditioned on peaches, vanilla bean, cinnamon bark.”

Sun King Brewing Party Energy (88)

Barrel-aged golden sour ale with funky pineapple and citrus character.

The Rare Barrel Avec des Amis (88)

Golden sour aged in oak barrels with white peaches and white nectarines.

Crooked Stave Member Berries Petite Sirah (88)

"A spontaneous golden sour ale aged in oak barrels with petite sirah grapes."

Lawson's Finest Liquids Above the Clouds (88)

“Our crisp, clear golden ale features notes of straw and fresh grain along with a subtle citrusy hops aroma. An approachable and light-bodied brew.”

Goose Island Beer Co. Four Star Pils (88)

“This golden-hued Pilsner has a light, fresh body and clean finish. Bright, refreshing carbonation mingles with German and American hops to give this Pilsner a unique Goose Island spin.”

Squatters Chasing Tail Orange Golden Ale (88)

“An English-style summer ale, this tail-wagger has already fetched a real name for itself in competition. Our premium barley rolls over with domestic and imported Golding hops for a delicate bitterness and cold, wet nose.”

Amalgam Brewing Oloroso (89)

Unblended, mixed-culture golden sour stock, selected from one of our Mastro Bottaio puncheons. Finished in a single Oloroso Sherry cask.

Westbound & Down Brewing Company Meta Blackberry (89)

“A blend of golden sour ales refermented on whole blackberries.”

Jack's Abby House Lager (2019) (89)

"What the Helles is a Landbier? Ours is sweet and golden with a full malty body, inspired by the country lagers of Bavaria."

Urban Chestnut Brewing Stammtisch (89)

“Our crisp and dry golden straw–colored pilsner has a pronounced herbal and spicy hop aroma.”

Wicked Weed Brewing La Bonte with Figs (90)

“La Bonte is open-fermented with our house _Brettanomyces_ culture, then blended with a portion of Golden Sour and onto a half pound per gallon of whole figs. La Bonte is then aged in our Foeder until it reaches perfection.”

Prairie Artisan Ales Funky Gold Amarillo (90)

“Funky Gold Amarillo is the second beer in our dry-hopped sour-ale series. We took our sour golden ale, Gold, and gave it a heavy dosing of Amarillo hops. The result is a beer that is a mix of tropical fruit and Prairie funk. Notes of peach, orange, white wine, and citrusy *Brett* can be found in the flavor and aroma.”

4 Hands Passion Fruit Prussia (90)

“The Passion Fruit Prussia is our nontraditional look at the classic Berliner weisse style. Brewed with a generous amount of passionfruit, this beer pours golden in color with a nice tart finish. A perfect complement to the summer heat.”

Bootstrap Brewing 1956 (90)

This crisp, dry golden ale is our lightest, most drinkable beer, balancing a light pilsener malt body with mild, pleasant German hop aroma.

Amalgam Brewing Blushing Star (91)

“Golden sour aged on Blushing Star peaches.”

Odell Brewing Company Brazzle (91)

“Brazzle is aged in oak barrels with wild yeasts and golden raspberries. Behind the bubbly light mouthfeel and delicate raspberry sweetness, there’s a subtle tartness that is not quite sour enough to make you pucker.”

Brooklyn Brewery Sorachi Ace (91)

“An unfiltered golden farmhouse ale with a clean malt flavor and Sorachi Ace hops standing front and center. Dry-hopping releases Sorachi Ace’s bright, spicy aromatics that harmonize with Pilsner malt and Belgian ale yeast.”

Cigar City Golden Ale (91)

“Built for the warmer months, our Golden Ale is brewed with American Willamette hops and pale wheat malt to create a low-alcohol American golden ale that balances bread-like malt flavors with herbaceous hops and a vibrant carbonation.”

Boulevard Beer American Kolsch (91)

“Pouring golden in color, this beer has an aroma of bready malt punctuated by a slightly minty hops character. With a light-to-medium mouthfeel, American Kölsch delivers a honey-like malt sweetness that gives way to a crisp clean finish with a touch of lingering citrus/herbal hops flavor.”

Rowley Farmhouse Ales I live for Merlot (92)

"This is a golden sour ale aged in chardonnay barrels then referemented to dryness on local organic merlot grapes."

The Rare Barrel Blurred T (92)

"A golden sour beer aged in oak barrels with Tempranillo grapes."

Westbound & Down Metaberry + Vanilla and Cognac (92)

"Golden sour aged in a single Cognac barrel + raspberries + Madagascar vanilla beans."

Wicked Weed Brewing Fille de Ferme (93)

“A tart farmhouse ale brewed in the rustic spirit of Belgian-style farm beers. Primary fermented with our house Brett culture and blended with golden sour ale. We then add honeysuckle and fresh orange peel and age the beer in our foeder.”

Amalgam Landscapes (Orchard Blend) (93)

"Blend of golden sours aged on Colorado-grown Red Globe Peaches and Ovation Nectarines."

Kros Strain Brewing Company Ratio 79 (94)

“Flavors of fresh-picked tart berries, peaches, and hints of vanilla.”

Sun King Brewery Leap Year (94)

"One-year, two-years, and three-years spontaneous golden ale, aged and fermented in... oak."

Cerebral Brewing Common Ancestry (95)

"Golden sour base went into oak barrels with both of our house cultures, apricots, and nectarines."

Southern Tier 8 Days A Week (95)

“The only way to describe this beer is ‘infinitely drinkable.’ This is smooth liquid refreshment with a hint of Centennial hops for fruity notes and low bitterness for an easy finish.”

O'Connor Brewing Proper Lager (95)

"Crisp. Clean. Proper. This helles-style lager showcases a brilliant golden hue and exceptional clarity. Balanced yet complex characters lend a malty sweetness. Finishes with a subtle, fruity, and floral hops bouquet that is sure to complement all occasions."

Springdale See You in the Pit (96)

"Cherry and raspberry get rowdy with our barrel-aged golden sour for sweet and sour riffs of fruit, funk, and acid."

Green Cheek Beer The Other Brian (96)

"We let our hand-selected Citra do all the talking in this pale golden elixir."

Burial Beer Co The Fortress of Immaculate Thought (98)

Barrel-aged golden sour with blueberries. Find Beaujolais nouveau, dried raspberries, mixed-berry smoothie, a waft of Blueberry Kush.

The Rare Barrel Avec des Amis (98)

"A blend of golden sour beer, mixed-culture saison, and hopped wheat beer aged in oak barrels and fruited with fresh white peaches and white nectarines."

Cerebral Brewing Single Barrel: 45 (99)

"We hand-selected a single oak barrel of mature Golden Sour and dry-hopped it with Nelson Sauvin and Motueka."

Weihenstephaner Pilsner (99)

“Golden-yellow and bright Weihenstephaner Pilsner has a distinctive hop aroma, finishing clean with ample bitterness. This combination provides a uniquely hoppy Pilsner, which is enjoyable to a wide variety of beer drinkers. Brewed according to our centuries-old brewing tradition on the Weihenstephan hill.”