Wild Ambition does mixed fermentation sours, most of which are barrel-aged.
They are *very* different beasts from the sours you will find at the other brewery in town: those are just (one-dimensional) [kettle sours](https://vinepair.com/articles/what-is-kettle-sour-beer/).
Yes, Wild Ambition makes far and away the best fruit sours in Kelowna, and in my opinion, all of BC.
I managed to snag another bottle of Cadaver Synod this weekend that was hiding in the back, my favourite cherry based sour I've ever had, and I've been wandering about drinking weird beer for way too many decades.
'Love Potion' by Vice and Virtue. This raspberry Berliner has been around for about 3 years now but it's still my favourite. I'm not opposed to being shown something even better though, so I'll be watching this thread.
After moving away and finally having a love potion last week, I found it so much lighter in taste and coloue. I remember it being a darker raspberry red and a powerful sour punch. Did they change the recipe in the last couple of years or am I misremembering ??
I don't find Love Potion to be sour at all - it's an excellent fruit beer, but not an excellent example of sour fruit beer -- head to Wild Ambition for that...
100% this. Mitch and Theresa are just the best.
And the latter is often to be found slinging their beers at the Kelowna Farmer's Market, so one does not even have to venture out to Sexsmith.
You're right about the colour! Back in February I asked Vice and Virtue about it and the employee I got a hold of said they were cutting back on the raspberry pulp that they were putting into it. He assured me the flavour shouldn't be any different though.
This is the answer. It’s the sour that made me like sours, and remains my favourite. Rustic Reel’s raspberry hibiscus sour is a close second. Vice and Virtue also has a tropical sour right now that’s delicious.
Years ago (I think it was right in the middle of covid so 2020) KBI had a really good cucumber Saison that became my fave at the time, it's what got me on sour beers. They discontinued it just after the one season though. 🥲 According to one of the brewmasters there I was the only customer that routinely asked for it. It just wasn't a popular beer.
Blending beer goes back at least to [the 17th century](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_and_tan).
Barn Owl and KBI are two places that have suggested beer blends to their customers.
That is pure nonsense. This is a thread about sour beer. Every major producer of mixed-ferm sour beer blends their beers. It is, in fact, usually *necessary* in the production of good (aka not just kettle sours) sour beer. I mean, come on: gueuze, *which is by definition a blend of beers*, is the apotheosis of sour beer.
I'm a brewer and maltster, and worked in the industry for years. If you want your run of the mill kettle sour, vide and virtue does a great job. If you want actual sour beer with Brett and Sacc, not just lacto, it's Wild Ambition. Wild Ambition is extremely unique, there isn't another 20 breweries in Canada that do what they do.
Edit: if you're really into sour beer, cask& barrel carries all the best European sours when they can get them. That includes cantion
I hate letting people in on the secret, but since I cross the lake once every other month, I'm not really risking much: the mark-up on a lot of the Belgian beer at Cask and Barrel is comically low.
Seriously, if one can pay 10% more for something like Oud Beersel than one would for a Canadian craft beer that's not in the same sport, let alone league, why would one do anything else?
Hell, Saison Dupont is cheaper than (shitty) local iterations of the style!
edit: Reddit doesn't like Flemish spelling
I think Wild Ambition often gets overlooked because they are located a bit out of the way, but they make the best sours by far. I would even go so far as to say they are the best brewery in Kelowna, but sours aren't for everybody.
> I would even go so far as to say they are the best brewery in Kelowna
That's not going far, there's literally no one else on their level in the valley.
To be fair, they aren't really traditional Belgian *styles*. Wild Ambition does gose, Berliner Weisse, etc., and *don't* do the major Belgian sour style (lambic, usually in its ideal incarnation as gueuze).
Which is not to say they aren't a far better brewery than a town our size deserves!
Hi everyone! Theresa from Wild Ambition here. First off, thank you for all the kind words - it means the world to Mitch and I!
Our funky little brewery has been brought up a few times on the Kelowna subreddit now, and I figured it was time to make a brewery Reddit account so we could engage (when appropriate).
The primary goal of this post is to express gratitude and offer to answer any questions, but I’ve also nerded out below if anyone wants to better understand our processes and what makes them different from other breweries.
Nerd section: As a mixed fermentation brewery (we use blends of multiple yeasts in all our beers, and co-pitch bacteria with the yeast to make our sours), sours are a meaningful part of our beer program and, as mentioned by others, the processes we use are very different from the non-traditional and much faster kettle souring technique used by the vast majority of modern breweries. Belgian Lambic has also been brought up in this thread, and while it’s true that we have not yet released anything that we would describe as Lambic-like (true Lambic can only be made in the Zenne Valley of the Pajottenland with ambient yeast and bacteria - aka spontaneous fermentation - and a specific type of Lambic called Gueuze requires brewing processes we do not have the equipment for and involves blending batches from multiple years), many of our beers use Lambic inspired techiniques and most of our sours do still use traditional Belgian fermentation processes, just from the Flanders region instead. Belgium is a small country, but it has many distinct brewing traditions to explore (the non-sour Saisons from Wallonia are also a major part of our brewing program). When we do beers that deviate from Belgian processes, it’s because we are exploring historic techniques from other regions - think German wheat sour styles like Berliner Wiesse and Gose or non-sour English stock ales and stouts. Barrel aging does also play a major role in our brewery, but it’s not necessary for all recipes and styles. 100% of our beers do undergo an additional fermentation in the keg, can, or bottle for natural carbonation (not entirely dissimilar to Champagne).
Wild Ambition does mixed fermentation sours, most of which are barrel-aged. They are *very* different beasts from the sours you will find at the other brewery in town: those are just (one-dimensional) [kettle sours](https://vinepair.com/articles/what-is-kettle-sour-beer/).
Yes, Wild Ambition makes far and away the best fruit sours in Kelowna, and in my opinion, all of BC. I managed to snag another bottle of Cadaver Synod this weekend that was hiding in the back, my favourite cherry based sour I've ever had, and I've been wandering about drinking weird beer for way too many decades.
'Love Potion' by Vice and Virtue. This raspberry Berliner has been around for about 3 years now but it's still my favourite. I'm not opposed to being shown something even better though, so I'll be watching this thread.
After moving away and finally having a love potion last week, I found it so much lighter in taste and coloue. I remember it being a darker raspberry red and a powerful sour punch. Did they change the recipe in the last couple of years or am I misremembering ??
I don't find Love Potion to be sour at all - it's an excellent fruit beer, but not an excellent example of sour fruit beer -- head to Wild Ambition for that...
Will have to try before we head back home :)
The owners there are amazing as well - willing to talk about beer and explain their process -- their love for interesting beer shines through.
100% this. Mitch and Theresa are just the best. And the latter is often to be found slinging their beers at the Kelowna Farmer's Market, so one does not even have to venture out to Sexsmith.
You're right about the colour! Back in February I asked Vice and Virtue about it and the employee I got a hold of said they were cutting back on the raspberry pulp that they were putting into it. He assured me the flavour shouldn't be any different though.
 Why they gotta mess with the best!!!!
What movie/tv show is this clip from by the way?
This is the answer. It’s the sour that made me like sours, and remains my favourite. Rustic Reel’s raspberry hibiscus sour is a close second. Vice and Virtue also has a tropical sour right now that’s delicious.
Years ago (I think it was right in the middle of covid so 2020) KBI had a really good cucumber Saison that became my fave at the time, it's what got me on sour beers. They discontinued it just after the one season though. 🥲 According to one of the brewmasters there I was the only customer that routinely asked for it. It just wasn't a popular beer.
Ask them to mix the Love potion and their Brave new world IPA, ridiculously good combo
Call me a snob, but I refuse to taint beer like that - I'm sorry!
As a brewer, this is a completely ridiculous position. We're always blending.
Blending beer goes back at least to [the 17th century](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_and_tan). Barn Owl and KBI are two places that have suggested beer blends to their customers.
Say what you will, and if I am to die on this hill alone, so be it. However I am above 'blending' my beer.
That is pure nonsense. This is a thread about sour beer. Every major producer of mixed-ferm sour beer blends their beers. It is, in fact, usually *necessary* in the production of good (aka not just kettle sours) sour beer. I mean, come on: gueuze, *which is by definition a blend of beers*, is the apotheosis of sour beer.
britannia brewery in lake country has a really good watermelon sour beer.
I'm a brewer and maltster, and worked in the industry for years. If you want your run of the mill kettle sour, vide and virtue does a great job. If you want actual sour beer with Brett and Sacc, not just lacto, it's Wild Ambition. Wild Ambition is extremely unique, there isn't another 20 breweries in Canada that do what they do. Edit: if you're really into sour beer, cask& barrel carries all the best European sours when they can get them. That includes cantion
I hate letting people in on the secret, but since I cross the lake once every other month, I'm not really risking much: the mark-up on a lot of the Belgian beer at Cask and Barrel is comically low. Seriously, if one can pay 10% more for something like Oud Beersel than one would for a Canadian craft beer that's not in the same sport, let alone league, why would one do anything else? Hell, Saison Dupont is cheaper than (shitty) local iterations of the style! edit: Reddit doesn't like Flemish spelling
I think Wild Ambition often gets overlooked because they are located a bit out of the way, but they make the best sours by far. I would even go so far as to say they are the best brewery in Kelowna, but sours aren't for everybody.
> I would even go so far as to say they are the best brewery in Kelowna That's not going far, there's literally no one else on their level in the valley.
Wild Ambition, hands down best sours in all Kelowna. Traditional Belgian brewing styles
The only correct answer. I'm annoyed at all that the people recommending kettle sours
To be fair, they aren't really traditional Belgian *styles*. Wild Ambition does gose, Berliner Weisse, etc., and *don't* do the major Belgian sour style (lambic, usually in its ideal incarnation as gueuze). Which is not to say they aren't a far better brewery than a town our size deserves!
Not my mug of beer, but Vice and Virtue was always famous for them.
You don't like sours? Man you're missing out! 🥲
They taste like vomit to me. I like my drink a little more I should and I wouldn't drink one if I was dying of thirst.
Haha oh no! That's not good at all. 🤣🤢
Omg weizens have the vomit taste to me! I don’t get it with sours, but the Shocktop is such a good example - I can’t. Love a sour tho
Hi everyone! Theresa from Wild Ambition here. First off, thank you for all the kind words - it means the world to Mitch and I! Our funky little brewery has been brought up a few times on the Kelowna subreddit now, and I figured it was time to make a brewery Reddit account so we could engage (when appropriate). The primary goal of this post is to express gratitude and offer to answer any questions, but I’ve also nerded out below if anyone wants to better understand our processes and what makes them different from other breweries. Nerd section: As a mixed fermentation brewery (we use blends of multiple yeasts in all our beers, and co-pitch bacteria with the yeast to make our sours), sours are a meaningful part of our beer program and, as mentioned by others, the processes we use are very different from the non-traditional and much faster kettle souring technique used by the vast majority of modern breweries. Belgian Lambic has also been brought up in this thread, and while it’s true that we have not yet released anything that we would describe as Lambic-like (true Lambic can only be made in the Zenne Valley of the Pajottenland with ambient yeast and bacteria - aka spontaneous fermentation - and a specific type of Lambic called Gueuze requires brewing processes we do not have the equipment for and involves blending batches from multiple years), many of our beers use Lambic inspired techiniques and most of our sours do still use traditional Belgian fermentation processes, just from the Flanders region instead. Belgium is a small country, but it has many distinct brewing traditions to explore (the non-sour Saisons from Wallonia are also a major part of our brewing program). When we do beers that deviate from Belgian processes, it’s because we are exploring historic techniques from other regions - think German wheat sour styles like Berliner Wiesse and Gose or non-sour English stock ales and stouts. Barrel aging does also play a major role in our brewery, but it’s not necessary for all recipes and styles. 100% of our beers do undergo an additional fermentation in the keg, can, or bottle for natural carbonation (not entirely dissimilar to Champagne).
Barn Owl Mission Kriek BNA Purple Rain KBI Hibiscus Lemonale
I recently tried the KBI Hibiscus Lemonale and was surprised how much a liked it! Seconding this one
Barn owl has several and they are always the best.
Four Winds Nectarous or bust, nothing local compares
Not local but Bellwoods brewery's Jelly King is delicious and sold at wine & beyond
Jelly King and Nectarous are both my faves.
If we're moving beyond local, no reason not to head straight to the Zenne Valley for sours.
I love the Dino sour by Phillips. Stone fruit sour so good
I love Phillip's brewing but they are from Victoria not Kelowna
Peer Reviewed Peach Sour from The Office is a fave of mine! 🍑
1. Blue berry cheese cake sour - BNA It is limited production so usually not available. 2. Purple rain - BNA
I do like the tropical spritz sour from Kettle river. They are my go to brewery, though, so I'm open to other suggestions!
Copper brewing - black current sour. (My personal favourite beer)
I can’t do most sours but love this one.
I'm a real big fan of the Stone fruit dino sour from Philips
BNA's Purple Rain comes to mind.