Local Suds: Triceratops Little Critics

As far as Peaks & Pints is concerned, Rob Horn can do as he wishes. If he wants to sour his most popular lager on cherries then barrel age it in whiskey barrels then more power to him. After all, he had the power to leave New Jersey to become a firefighter at Joint Base Lewis-McChord . He had the power to raise three children. In 2014, he had the power to convince his wife, Kelly, to take his homebrewer skills pro and open Triceratops Brewing named after his three kids (three Horns). He had the power to keep brewing after hot wort filled his brewing boot. He also had the power to relocate his beer business next to Matchless Brewing in Tumwater and still make beer even though former Matchless head brewer Pat Jansen would constantly flick his ears. The power he put behind his Triceratops Little Critics Sour Pennsyltucky on Cherries paid off. It’s delicious.

Horn joins the rest of the American brewers rewriting the rules on sour beers. They use traditional sour styles as a jumping off point to experiment with techniques such as hops additions for bittering and aroma, racking sour beers into freshly used wine or spirit barrels, blending together batches, adding adjuncts, or, in the case of Horn, sour a lager on cherries then barrel age it. The possibilities are wide open.

Little Critics is soured with Horn’s house culture and conditioned on 30 pounds of Washington-grown cherries for a pleasing tartness, a restrained level of acidity, and an approachable 4.8 percent. Extended aging in Heaven Hill whiskey barrels further enhances the beer’s complexity.

Peaks & Pints has 500ml bottles of Little Critics in our giant cooler.

More power to you, Rob Horn!