From their ensemble of GABF award-winning European-style brews to their Columbia River taproom with epic views of the Northwest landscape, everything about pFriem screams prestige.  

Even today’s cherry and fig-like Oud Bruin Sour Ale, aged 2 years in French Oak wine barrels, feels destined for a Cabernet glass.  Raise a pinkie if you must, cause this oak-soaked jamminess will inspire sophisticated longings from both French wine fans and lovers of American Sour Ales.

Scoring a 96 from Beer Connoisseur with near perfect marks on flavor, mouthfeel, aroma, it’s clear that pFriem’s brewers unlocked the jammy nuances of this classic Belgian Sour style.  Two years resting in French Oak wine foeders and barrels combined with sour-inducing Lacto creates flavors of marionberries, raspberries and fig spread.  The aroma is pure Spanish sherry, while the finish is oak vanilla with echoes of leather and a long, gliding crescendo of cherry tartness.

With a complexity typically only found in expensive red wines, married with a sourness you’ll only taste in craft beer, pFriem’s Oud Bruin is pure class.  Save it for a candlelit dinner or warm night on the porch -- flavor like this beckons sophistication.

Rated 96 on Beer Connoisseur