Name
Catharina Sour
Category
Provisional Styles
BJCP Style Code
0 X4
Appearance
The color can vary based on the fruit used, but is often fairly pale. Clarity can vary from quite clear to hazy, depending on the age and the type of fruit used. Always effervescent. The head is medium to high with good retention, and varies from white to shades of color depending on the fruit used.
Aroma
The fruit character should be immediately noticeable and recognizable at a medium to high level. A clean lactic sourness should be detectable at a low to medium level, in support of the fruit. Malt is typically absent, but can be present at a low level as a supportive grainy or bready character. Clean fermentation character required. No wild or funky yeast notes, no hop character, no sharp alcohol.
Flavour
Fresh fruit flavor dominates, from a medium to high level, with a supporting clean lactic sourness (low to medium-high, but always noticeable). The fruit should have a fresh character and not seem cooked, jam-like, or artificial. The malt flavor is often absent, but can provide a low grainy or bready flavor. However, the malt should never compete with the fruit or sourness. Hop bitterness is very low, below sensory threshold. Dry finish with a clean, tart, and fruity aftertaste. Should not have any hop flavor, acetic notes, or diacetyl. Funky Brettanomyces flavors are inappropriate.
Mouthfeel
Low to medium-low body. Medium to high carbonation. Alcohol warmth is inappropriate. Acidity is low to medium-high, without being aggressive or astringent.
Overall Impression
A light and refreshing wheat ale with a clean lactic sourness that is balanced by a fresh fruit addition. The low bitterness, light body, moderate alcohol content, and moderately high carbonation allow the flavor and aroma of the fruit to be the primary focus of the beer. The fruit is often, but not always, tropical in nature.
Typical Ingredients
The grist is typically Pilsner malt and wheat (malted or unmalted), frequently in equal percentages. Kettle souring is the most common technique of production using some strain of Lactobacillus, followed by a neutral ale yeast. Fruit additions post-fermentation are most common, as a fresh and uncooked fruit character is desirable. One or two fruits are most commonly used, and are often tropical types, but any fresh fruit can be used.
History
Originating in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina in 2015 as a collaboration between craft brewers and homebrewers to create a beer featuring local ingredients that was well-suited to the warm climate. The style has spread to other states within Brazil and elsewhere, and is a popular style both commercially and in homebrew competitions.
Comments
If a Berliner weisse type beer was made with fruit, it should be entered as a Fruit Beer. This beer is stronger and typically features fresh fruit. The kettle souring method allows for fast production of the beer, so this is typically a present-use style. It may be bottled or canned, but it should be consumed while fresh.
Commercial Examples
Itajahy Catharina Araca Sour, Blumenau Catharina Sour Sun of a Peach, Lohn Bier Catharina Sour Jaboticaba, Liffey Coroa Real, UNIKA Tangerina, Armada Daenerys
Notes
Like a stronger Berliner weisse, but with fresh fruit. Less sour than lambic and gueuze, and without Brettanomyces character.
Original Gravity
1.039 - 1.048 SG
Final Gravity
1.002 - 1.008 SG
Color
2 - 7 SRM
Alcohol
4.0 - 6.0 %vol
Bitterness
2 - 8 IBU