Ground Breaker Brewer’s Delight Cherry Sour

Gluten Free Brewer’s Delight Cherry Sour

Gluten Free Cherry Sour Ale

It’s been awhile since I reviewed a gluten free sour. Today I’ll be pouring the Brewer’s Delight Cherry Sour, brewed by Ground Breaker Brewing in Oregon. Ground Breaker has a dedicated gluten free brewery in Portland, but they distribute out of state, as far as the east coast, so it’s not just Oregonians that have access to their beer.

The Brewer’s Delight Cherry Sour was released in January 2022 and is brewed using a particular strain of yeast, called the Philly Sour, that allows one to brew a sour ale without the use of bacteria or mixed fermentation.

This gluten free Cherry Sour Ale is brewed on a grain base that includes Eckert Rice Malt, Grouse Millet Malt, Cherry Puree, Grouse Buckwheat Malt, and Flaked Quinoa. It has a 6.2% ABV and is conditioned on sweet cherries. You can find it packaged in 16 ounce cans, or at their taproom in Portland, OR.

There are quite a few fresh reviews for Ground Breaker Brewing, so I’ll post some recent ones at the end of this beer review. First, let’s take a look at how the Brewer’s Delight Cherry Sour pours…

The Taste Test

Brewer’s Delight Cherry Sour Ale

The Brewer’s Delight Cherry Sour pours with a bright Bing cherry red color, extremely high clarity, and a head that wants to disappear before I can photograph it. Please note that the clarity may be due to the fact that I wasn’t able to pour the entire can into the glass at once. That observation may change based on your glass size. Once the head bubbles away, you wouldn’t be able to visually tell it apart from a cider, but a quick sniff reveals a bit of light malt in the aroma so you can relax in the knowing that it’s just a sour ale posing as a cider.

In all seriousness, the aroma contains notes of stone fruit and bread. You can smell the sour too. My first sip reveals more carbonation than you can see with your eyes, and a very quick fading punch of tartness that dances around the fruit profile a bit. It’s very interesting how it does this…let me see if I can better explain.

When I take my first drink, the first thing I notice is cherry fruit and texture–mainly the carbonation since the body itself is very light. A half second later, you get a punch of sour to the mid-palate, but the intensity doesn’t linger with the fruit. The sour quality comes in sharp and fades just as fast as it enters, but it does leave a puckering tartness on the tongue once the main act has left the building, particularly on the back taste buds.

As you might imagine, this gluten free Cherry Sour is not very sweet, and the flavor profile doesn’t reveal much malt before you’re swept away by the sour fruit. You can detect a bit of breadiness on the palate after swallow, but it’s mostly overpowered by the cherry tartness. The sour quality seems to linger heaviest on the tongue, meaning it doesn’t make your whole mouth dry the way that sours can sometimes.

I can’t say much about the hop profile, because the sour fruit is louder and holds your attention throughout the tasting experience. As previously mentioned, the body is light and the beer has a crisp refreshing quality to it. It doesn’t make me thirsty like some sours tend to.

If you’d like to learn more about the Cherry Sour, you can scan the QR code printed on the can and you’ll be taken to the Brewer’s Delight page of the Ground Breaker website. Handy for those consuming this in a restaurant or bar environment. I’d love to hear from anyone who has tasted this beer. Did you like it? Drop your answer in the comment section below!

As promised, here is a handful of other 100% gluten free Ground Breaker Brewing beers that were recently reviewed by yours truly:

• Ground Breaker Brewing Psychrophilic Cold + Black IPA (new fav!)
• Ground Breaker Olallie Blackberry and Rosehip Ale (recently updated)
• Ground Breaker Brewing Huge Monster Hazy IPA
• Ground Breaker Brewing Front Loader IPA

P.S. Like what I do for the gluten free beer community? Consider buying me a beer for my efforts! ;)