Sour beers: Hongkongers tap into latest craft beer trend
They might occupy just a small niche in the craft brewing market, but their complex and intriguing flavours are winning over the city's connoisseurs
Rohit Dugar is standing in front of a fermentation tank at his Ap Lei Chau brewery, Young Master Ales, when he opens a valve and fills a small glass with amber liquid. He takes a sip.
"I think it needs more salt."
That's not something you expect to hear about a beer, but Dugar is not making an ordinary brew. His Cha Chaan Teng Gose is based on a centuries-old German style of beer whose tart and slightly salty flavours bear some resemblance to lemonade. Young Master's version includes salted lime, a nod to the classic haam ling chut (salted lime with 7 Up), a staple of Hong Kong-style cafes.
Dugar and his master brewer, Ulrich Altbauer, first made the the gose as a one-off experiment earlier this year. But it proved so popular over the summer that they recently brewed a second batch for autumn. It will be one of the 551 beers available at this year's Beertopia craft beer festival, on October 9 and 10 at the Central harbourfront.
Done well, it's one of the most intriguing flavours out there; done poorly, it will make you want to throw out the entire beer
The gose won't be alone in the festival's sour beer category. Although they represent just a fraction of the overall craft beer market, sours are a growing niche, beloved by beer geeks for their complex and surprising range of flavours that are not usually associated with the brew.