Fruited Sour

Tannins are a key part of what makes many great fruit beers taste like fruit—and it’s something you can easily adjust as a brewer.

Josh Weikert prowled his local produce aisle following a simple principle: Buy what looks best, and go with the freshest fruit you can get. That led him to guava and passion fruit, a dynamic for this Brazilian-inspired tart fruit beer.

At The Eighth State in Greenville, South Carolina, cofounder and head brewer Cameron Owen is employing a careful culinary approach to create unexpected layers of complexity in fruit beers and ingredient-laden stouts and barleywines.

In Weymouth, Massachusetts, Vitamin Sea Brewing are tinkering with and launching trendy styles to flavorful new heights—and finding plenty of fans up for the ride.