Get to Know Sour Beers at Random Precision Brewing Company

By Nicholas Dekker

Around Worthington we’re fortunate to have plenty of spots to hang out, catch up with friends, enjoy good drinks, maybe knock off a little work or play some board games.

On Dublin-Granville Road, just west of Linworth Road, in an old furniture store, you’ll find a new favorite hangout: Random Precision Brewing Company. The brewery is owned by Jason and Andrea Grable (get to know them a little more here!), and this March they will celebrate two years of brewing, aging, and serving their beers to the public.

Random Precision carves its niche in the ever-expanding brewery market by focusing on sour beers.

So what is a sour beer?

Sour beers are fermented using specialized strains of yeast and bacteria, such as Brettanomyces (also known as Brett), Pediococcus, and Lactobacillus. These strains produce a range of tart and funky flavors. “Sour” is a bit of a misnomer, as it implies something that has gone bad. Instead, sour beers are typically crisp, refreshing, and tart. If you love SweeTarts or Sour Patch Kids, chances are you’ll like sour beers.

The benefit of sour beers is that they are often low-alcohol, which means they’re perfect for sipping while hanging out for a couple hours. In other words, putting back a couple sours won’t have you ordering an Uber.

Sours are also produced in two different ways: kettle sours and barrel-aged sours. Kettle sours are aged more quickly in the fermentation vessels, often with Lactobacillus, at higher temperatures. This “sours” the beer more quickly. Popular sour styles like the gose (pronounced “GO-zah”) and Berliner Weiss are typically produced this way.

Barrel-aged sours take longer because the beers, as the name implies, are aged in barrels. They age at room temperatures, so it takes months to produce a barrel-aged sours. But the result is often more complex and dynamic flavors. And both types of sours also lend themselves to infusing with a variety of fruits and spices.

At Random Precision, Grable produces a wide range of sours, all of them soured in either barrels or stainless fermenters. You can see what he has on tap at any given time here. One of his signatures is the Misconstrued Sarcasm IPA, which balances tartness with generous floral and tropical hops. His Unforeseen Consequences is a golden sour ale that’s been aged in wine barrels; the current offerings are flavored with rose hips and orange zest, and lemon and lime zest.

Meanwhile, the Obscuration is a sour stout. It combines the sweet and toasty flavors of a stout with a tart edge; Grable enhances the beer in two varieties currently: one with plum and one with vanilla bean and cherries.

Grable offers $10 flights of four beers Wednesday evenings from 4-7 p.m., and on Thursdays from 4-10 p.m. he sells growlers of his Misconstrued Sarcasm IPA for $11.

Not a sour beer drinker? Grable usually has at least one guest beer on tap, plus cider and wine.

Random Precision hosts a variety of events, such as paint nights, yoga, live music, Girl Scout cookie and beer pairings, and more. On Sunday, February 2, they’ll celebrate Groundhog Day by showing the classic Bill Murray movie all day long, while offering specials on pints, flights, and growler fills. Get a look at the schedule here. 

To find Random Precision Brewing

2365 W. Dublin-Granville Rd.
Columbus, OH 43235
(614) 389-3864
randomprecisionbrewing.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RPBSours
Twitter: @rpbsours
Instagram: @rpbsours

Open Wednesday-Thursday, 4-10 p.m.
Friday, 4 p.m. to midnight
Saturday, noon to midnight
Sunday, noon to 8 p.m.