On Tap.

The Collective Brewing Project’s Petite Golden Sour Is A Real Barnburner.

Welcome to On Tap! Each week in this recurring feature, we’ll take an in-depth look at one of the many beers now available in the suddenly crowded North Texas brew scene. The goal here is to look at these area beers without our local goggles on and to wonder aloud, “Is this beer good or do I just like it because it’s local?” Should be a fun experiment, no? Cheers to that!

This week, we sipped on The Collective Brewing Project‘s Petite Golden Sour.

Fast Facts on The Collective Brewing Project’s Petite Golden Sour.
Style: American Wild Ale.
ABV: 4.5 percent.
International Bitterness Units (IBUs): 1.
Color: Pale straw.
Availability: Kegs, limited.

Overview.
The Collective Brewing Project’s flagship beer might be its Petite Golden Sour. At least that’s what Collective’s fans on social media are saying. How about let’s wait and see, OK?

Petite Golden Sour is brewed with a yeast strain from Brewing Science Institute named Brettanomyces bruxellensis var. Drie. What does that mean? Well, it’s a variety of Brettanomyces yeast that is commonly used for wild ales, sours and mixed fermentation beers. This strain is noted to produce strong tropical aromatics, as well as being a high attenuator. A high attenuating yeast is one that’s very effective at converting sugars to alcohol. Got it? Well, there’s a wrinkle. This is a low-alcohol beer. So, what we’re left with is a very aromatic, tart, thin table beer that’s a real mouth-puckering treat.

Background on American Wild Ales.
According to BJCP’s latest guidelines, Petite Golden Sour lives somewhere in the American Wild Ale/Brett Beer category, although I could be wrong. Or better yet, I could go off-script and just call this a funky table sour. (There is no actual funky table sour category on the BJCP guidelines.) But Collective probably doesn’t care — that’s not how they roll. The Wild Ale category sounds like it might use yeasts collected from the wild versus a yeast manufacturer, but that’s typically not the case.

Appearance.
Petite Golden Sour is a beautiful beer. If there’s one style that this beer might look like, it would look close to a Wit or a Gose. The haze is appropriate for the style. There is little to no head present, but a thin foam ring sticks around as I enjoy each sip.

Aroma.
A hint of tropical, tart bite teases the nose before sipping. But just as quickly as the inviting aromas enter my nose, a farm’s barn door swings wide open, flooding my pallet with the classic horse blanket aroma that Brett beers are known for. There are little to no hops present in this beer, which is normal for Brett-fermented beers. Some wild ale yeasts do not play well with a hopped wort, so this beer is intentionally very, very lowly-hopped.

Flavor.
Just as the barnyard horse show opens on the nose, the party continues in my mouth. Hey, have you had a Berliner Weisse before? Then you’ll know what I mean when I say that there is a strong acidity to this beer, and I can feel the creeping promise of acid reflux in my future. When I swallow this beer, I feel my eyes squinting, fighting back the tart beer face. The high level of attenuation of the Brett yeast makes the beer so dry that there’s a faint soapy astringency. But I like it and I want more. The aftertaste is slightly less tart and dissipates quickly, inviting me in for another round of acidic, tart mouth-punch.

Mouthfeel.
There’s no way around it, this is definitely a thin beer. It’s a 4.5 percent ABV beer, too, so there’s no need to expect a whole lot in the way of body on this beer. What is present, though, is a strong, biting carbonation that’s is accented by the beer’s acidity and tartness.

Overall Impression.
I like Petite Golden Sour, although I wish it had a little bit more going on, body-wise. It reminds me of a Berliner Weisse, and I’m left wondering how Collective coaxed such lovely tart flavors out of this beer. Whatever acidification method it used worked almost too well.

The Brett character is huge, and I suspect that Collective may keg condition this beer for a couple months before it releases kegs in to the community. Sometimes, Brett beers can get more intense as they age. I wonder what happens when Collective breaks out a keg of this same beer after two or three years. Other than a room full of people reaching for antacid tablets, I’d guess that they would love it even more.

Also, I feel like I don’t need to say this, but if tart, barnyard-tasting beer isn’t your thing, you should probably pass on this beer.

Additionally, Nathan, my favorite bartender at On Rotation, just informed me that this beer is $9 for a half-pour. Yikes! This is not your average-budget beer.

Score.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d give The Collective Brewing Project’s Petite Golden Sour a 7.

What’s happening in the area brew scene? (Powered by Dallas Brew Scene.)
• Thursday, September 24-26. Fort Worth Oktoberfest at Panther Island Pavilion.
• Saturday, September 26. Pegasus Music & Craft Beer Festival at Verizon Theatre.
• Sunday, September 27. Brewer’s Brunch: Football Fiesta at Martin House Brewing Co.
• Saturday, October 3-4. Texas Beer Camp at Long Road Farm.
• Saturday, October 31. Texas Bicycle & Beer Expo at Dallas Heritage Village.
• Saturday, November 7. Untapped Dallas at Fair Park.
• Friday, November 13. 2nd Annual Brewer’s Ball at Renaissance Dallas Hotel.

Previous On Tap Reviews:
• Peticolas’ Royal Scandal: 10.
• Community’s Mosaic IPA: 10.
• Peticolas’ Velvet Hammer: 10.
• Community’s Barrel-Aged Legion: 10.
• Community’s Legion: 10.
• Lakewood’s Saint Dymphna: 9.5.
• Peticolas’ Lost Epic: 9.5.
• Community’s Ascension Porter: 9.5.
• Lakewood’s Temptress: 9.5.
• Lakewood’s Goatman: 9.5.
• Community’s Public Ale: 9.5.
• Peticolas’ Thrilla in Brazilla: 9.5.
• Revolver’s Blood & Honey: 9.
• Martin House’s Imperial Texan: 9.
• Community’s Trinity Tripel: 9.
• Peticolas’ Irish Goodbye: 9.
• Four Corners’ Block Party Porter: 9.
• Cedar Creek’s Belgian Dubbel: 9.
• Deep Ellum’s Easy Peasy IPA: 8.5.
• Deep Ellum’s Oak Cliff Coffee Ale: 8.5.
• Lakewood’s Rock Ryder: 8.5.
• Rahr’s Bourbon Barrel Aged Winter Warmer: 8.5.
• Lakewood’s Raspberry Temptress: 8.5.
• Noble Rey’s SteamPunk: 8.
• 903 Brewers’ Citra On Top: 8.
• Bitter Sisters’ Hissy Fit: 8.
• BrainDead’s Gritz: 8.
• Community’s Barrel-Aged Inspiration : 8.
• Cedar Creek’s Fisticuffs: 8.
• Lakewood’s Punkel: 8.
• Four Corners’ El Chingon IPA: 8.
• Martin House’s Day Break: 8.
• Deep Ellum’s GOURDzilla: 8.
• Peticolas’ The Duke (Aged 12 Months): 8.
• Deep Ellum’s Pale Ale: 8.
• Revolver’s Bock: 8.
• 903 Brewers’ Sasquatch: 8.
• Peticolas’ Wintervention: 8.
• Armadillo Ale Works’ Brunch Money: 8.
• Martin House’s Salsa Verde: 8.
• Cedar Creek’s Spinning Mule Robust Porter: 8.
• Lakewood’s Holiday Bonus: 8.
• Lakewood’s Hop Trapp: 8.
• Lakewood’s Hopochondria: 7.5.
• Three Nations GPA: 7.5.
• Martin House’s Rubberneck Red: 7.5.
• Lakewood’s Antigoon’s Revenge: 7.5.
• Community’s Texas Pils: 7.5.
• Lakewood’s Zomer Pils: 7.5.
• Cedar Creek’s Dankosaurus: 7.5.
• Shannon’s Chocolate Stout: 7.
• BrainDead’s Red Ale: 7.
• Community’s Razzy Raspberry Witbier: 7.
• Martin House’s Gateway Blonde Ale: 7.
• Bearded Eel’s Purple Unicorn: 7.
• Shannon Brewing Company’s Irish Red: 7.
• Texas Ale Project’s Somethin’ Shady: 7.
• Deep Ellum IPA: 7.
• Cedar Creek’s The Lawn Ranger: 7.
• Martin House Brewing Company’s Cellarman’s Reserve IPA (Amarillo).: 7.
• Lakewood’s Till & Toil: 7.
• 903 Brewers’ The Chosen One: 7.
• 903 Brewers’ Sugar On Top: 7.
• Martin House’s Gateway XPA: 7.
• Armadillo Ale Work’s Quakertown Stout: 7.
• Revolver’s High Brass: 7.
• Community’s Pale Ale: 7.
• Martin House’s River House: 7.
• Grapevine Craft Brewery’s Sir William’s Brown Ale: 7.
• Community’s Funnel Cake Ale: 7.
• Audacity’s Boss Raptor IPA: 7.
• Collective Brewing Project’s Mom Azacca: 6.5.
• Revolver’s Ironhead IPA: 6.5.
• 903 Brewers’ Trot Line: 6.5.
• Peticolas’ Operation Collaboration: 6.5.
• Grapevine Craft Brewery’s Nightwatch: 6.5.
• Peticolas’ The Duke: 6.5.
• Deep Ellum’s Double Brown Stout : 6.5.
• Tupps’ Cotton Mill Gold: 6.
• Rabbit Hole’s Tweedleyum: 6.
• Rabbit Hole’s Off With Your Red: 6.
• Cedar Creek’s Elliott’s Phoned Home Pale Ale: 6
• Grapevine Craft Brewery’s Lakefire: 6
• Armadillo Ale Works’ WunderMelon: 6
• Deep Ellum Pale Ale: 6
• Lakewood’s La Dame Du Lac: 5.5.
• Deep Ellum’s Numb Comfort: 5.
• Four Bullets’ Black Jack Brown: 4.5.
• Four Corners Heart O’ Texas: 4.
• Audacity’s Sunset Boulevard: 4.
• Shannon Brewing Company’s IPA: 4.
• Grapevine’s Monarch: 4.
• Franconia Wheat: 3.
• Miller Lite: 1.