Changes

Both of these issues not only make talking about sour/funky brewing difficult between brewers, but they also make it even more challenging to communicate to consumers what it is the brewer is doing to make the beer that they are drinking, and why that process is important. Efforts by professional brewers have recently been made to begin discussing these terms, and what effects on the market various terms might have. For example, brewers who barrel age sour beers have occasionally been critical of other brewers who produce kettle sour beer. One common complaint is against the practice of charging a similar price point to barrel aged sours for kettle soured beers, which generally take much less time to produce. Most kettle soured beers, however, are given a fair and reasonable price point by most brewers. On the other side of the discussion however, brewers who sour wort are critical of the term "kettle souring" being portrayed as only a "shortcut" or only a way to make "one dimensional sour beer", and thus causing consumers to perhaps view kettle soured beers in a negative light despite the unique beers that can be created from such a process. [[Gose]] and [[Berliner Weissbier]], although popular and worthy styles of beer, are also not the only styles that can be brewed with wort souring or kettle souring techniques. As knowledge and practice of kettle souring techniques are mastered, the quality of these beers will improve (as they did when American brewers first started making barrel aged sour beers). Indeed, brewers who are passionate about souring wort often know just as much (and sometimes more) about the microbes and processes they are using than brewers who use mixed cultures, and they can create both desirable and very unique beers. In conclusion, educating consumers about specific processes that different brewers use to produce their beers will foster understanding and appreciation for the wide array of different processes and their resulting beers for both consumers and fellow brewers. To that point, this wiki will attempt to help educate the public about sour and funky brewing processes.