Brewery – Rivertown
Beer – Sour Noir
Style – Dark Sour Ale
ABV – 7.9%
IBUs – 35

You’re good Miss Brevis, too good. If you were actually as innocent as you pretend to be…” he quipped. “Well, you know me, Mogiana, ” Brevis replied, “If you did it, or if you didn’t, you’ll get a square deal from me. I wasn’t sure if a fella like you would have what it takes to get the job done.” She shot Mogiana a cunning grin. “Well, Brevis, I don’t dare question that you have what it takes. But you can’t argue that we work well together. You’re the brains, I’ll be the brawn”.

When Rivertown was making it’s final moves up to their massive production facility/restaurant in Monroe, they had to make the decision of which beer they would make the final one on the bottling line in the space that started it all.  In a lot of ways it only makes sense that they decided to make the beer Sour Noir.

Rivertown has tried from the very beginning to push the envelope (and the palates of their fans) with their sometimes off the wall beers.  Sour Noir is a good example of that pushing.  The beer is dark sour beer, aged in barrels and hit with a massive kick of fresh coffee.  It’s unique, strange, and unlike beers that you’ll find almost anywhere else.  And that’s exactly who Rivertown is.  The brewery has a strong “normal side” that they often show to people, but if you look a little deeper you’ll see the things that really get them excited.

This beer is an oddball, and I mean that in the absolute best way possible.

My Thoughts On Rivertown Sour Noir

I like this beer… like… I actually like this beer a lot.  It’s got a mixture of flavors that are not only strangely unique, but they shift and change immensely as you let your beer glass warm up for a while.  This is the kind of drinking experience that really get’s me excited to keep sipping away.

In the glass, it looks fairly normal.  Dark… a really rich deep brown if you get it in the right light, otherwise pitch black.  There is a thin tan head on top full of big bubbles.  It looks like a lot of porters that I’ve put into my beer glass before.

Digging my nose into the glass, I’m hit with a bright fresh coffee smell that is fantastic.  Behind that is a sweet brown sugary aroma that started to get me really excited to get to actually sipping away.

The taste is bright coffee first, followed quickly by a tart sour note and finishing up with a deep roast flavor.   As I mentioned above, the flavors change as you work your way down to the bottom of the glass, sometimes getting a bit more sour, and sometimes a bit more bitter… it’s a journey through different parts of the palate that I find really interesting.  I like this beer a lot, and I’m really curious what is going to happen to it as it spends some time hanging out in the beer cellar.

Leave a Comment.