If you've never tasted a sour beer, your first reaction might be something like mine.
Whoa. This is beer?
Tart, light in alcohol. Not very foamy, odd hues: Sours are more than an acquired taste; they challenge the very idea of what beer is. And if you're a brewer, the bacteria that makes it sour can ruin ever other beer you're trying to make.
While sours are growing popularity, they remain firmly on the margins of the craft beer world (which is still pretty small). The flavor is not so much the flip side of hoppy bitterness as a step beyond: bitter and sour are practically kissing cousins. Besides, who doesn't like a nice glass of tart lemonade, especially on a hot summer day?
For the adventurous drinker, sours offer something different from the hop bombs and big beers that seem to dominate the scene. They make take some getting used to, but once you get your taste buds past conventional ideas of what beer is supposed to be, sours can become something of an obsession.
An obsession, even for people who once hated them.