So here we are – bottle number 52 – and fittingly enough almost exactly a year on from Jim Helsby's review of the then fledgling brewery Bad Seed's delightful saison, I am now recommending their first sour ale.

Subjected to a 24 hour sour mash procedure, akin to that used for brewing Berliner Weisse, but brewed stronger than is the norm for this style, Cherry Sour is somewhat style-guide agnostic.

Pouring strawberry blonde, dusty with what may as well be no head, it becomes all too apparent that this beer is sour (a low PH destroys head retention) and rustic. A strong lactic sharpness, reminiscent of a sourdough starter, rises alongside sickly-sweet overripe fruit, almonds, and melting butter.

A brief flash of cherry drops is stripped back by an aggressive sharpness – orange juice and chardonnay play against a backdrop of lemon posset and cooking apples. The finish builds a warming wholemeal bread maltiness up as the sourness recedes, before the cherries return once more, transforming the flavour into fruitcake and sherbert.

Surprisingly tacky, the body is quite full for the style, leaving plenty of residual sweetness to balance out the acidity of the base beer. This is very much a beer in 2 acts; one part biting and refresing, the other soothing and juicy, and the two work together very well indeed.

Recommended by Michael Bates of Trembling Madness