I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve always said that Jester King is the most hyped and therefore, the most overrated brewery in Texas. That’s not to say that they don’t make very good beer because they do. I just don’t worship them the way that many others in Austin and around the state do.
I’ve tried several of Jester King’s beers, but never a sour until now. For our beer of the week, we wanted to focus on a rare and small batch release – Provenance Batch #2. This sour series has three different flavor combinations: tangerine & clementine, orange & grapefruit, and lemon & lime. Our flavor choice for this week is lemon & lime.
First of all, I had somebody tell me this beer tasted like Sprite. It does not taste anything like Sprite and to say something like that is lazy and discredits the amount of work the brewers took in making this beer.
Instead of using just brewer’s yeast in the fermentation process, Jester King uses brewer’s yeast, natural wild yeast, and native souring bacteria. What is unique is they add the fruit during the fermentation process and the reaction from the wild yeast and souring bacteria to the fruit releases different flavors and intensifies the lemon and lime flavors of our sample. To put it in a way that will allow most people understand, they use the same method wineries do when fermenting grape juice using living microorganisms.
The flavor profile of this farmhouse ale is extremely tart that tastes like concentrated lemon and lime juice. The brew was strongly carbonated and finishes dry on the palette. The souring agents allow the acidic nature to give the beer a briny characteristic.
Like other Jester King beers, the yeast tends to give me an allergic reaction where my throat seems scratchy and swollen. This is always a bit concerning and it could be due to the wild yeast used in the brewing process. They are the only brewery that creates this reaction for me. Others I’ve talked to don’t have this reaction, so this is probably an anomaly associated with the yeast.
Overall, it was a beautifully flavored sour saison. If you’re looking for a new sour to try, get your hands on this beer. You’ll be pleasantly surprised with the intense fruit flavors and the tartness.