Beer-wine hybrids are a delicious boon to indecisive drinkers #InternationalBeerDay

"It takes a lot of beer to make great wine." Or so the old winemaking chestnut goes. These days, the inverse is becoming true, with wine making inroads into beer recipes themselves.

These beer-wine hybrids often start with a saison farmhouse or sour ale as a base recipe-something that already has a bit of heft to stand up to those grapes. Sometimes the beer is co-fermented with them at the outset; other times it'll get racked onto the fruit for extended fermentation and ageing. The results are wildly unique, sometimes odd and usually a delicious blurring of the lines.

Seek out the following bottles for your next cheese board.

Stillwater - Oude Bae

(6.5% ABV)

Delicious pink beers in honor of #BreastCancerAwarenessMonth over here at #BridgeTapHouseandWineBar ❤️ #CrookedStaveRaspberryOrigins, #FoundersRubaeusNitro, #StillwaterOudeBae, #CraneBeetweiss... and it may not be pink, but a portion of sales of #GreenFlashTreasureChest actually goes to support the cause! #prettyinpink #savethetatas #stlcraftbeer @baileysinstl @bridgetaphouse @downtownstlouis 🍻

A post shared by Reanna(@yomama.bitch) on Oct 16, 2016 at 4:10pm PDT

A particularly successful Stillwater hybrid, Oude Bae is a sour amber ale aged on French oak with pinot noir grapes. Nicely tart and beautifully vinous, first sips reveal an appealing funk and richness atop a drinkable, tangy body. This one now comes in cans, making it the perfect grab for your next picnic.

Cantillon - Saint Lamvinus

(5% ABV)

Saint Lamvinus 2013 | lambic with merlot grapes added, 5% ABV | Cantillon, Belgium #unabirralgiorno #cantillon #cantillonsaintlamvinus #saintlamvinus #brasseriecantillon

A post shared by unabirralgiorno(@unabirralgiorno) on Oct 18, 2017 at 12:43pm PDT

Brasserie Cantillon produces what's likely the most sought-after traditional Belgian lambic out there, but its Saint Lamvinus has a cult following all its own. (Beer nerds often insist a great lambic's ageing ability is akin to that of fine wine, so infusion with grapes is only logical.) Here, a blend of lambics are barrel-aged for more than a year with merlot grapes. It pours a brilliant burgundy hue, yielding intense fruit on the nose and oak on the palate.

Mikkeller - Riesling People

(6.7% ABV)

Mikkeller Riesling People (6.7%): You can always count on Mikkeller to produce some weird stuff, and I like it. This IPA with Riesling in it poured a hazy pale yellow and had a lovely hoppy fruity aroma. The taste was fruity with some grapefruit and citric notes, which faded into a light bitter finish. This may not be your traditional IPA, but it’s really good!  Beer style: India Pale Ale #beerreview #mikkellerandfriends

A post shared by Beercause(@beercause) on Mar 20, 2018 at 8:37am PDT

Here's probably the most accessible beer-wine hybrid available right now: a new IPA brewed with riesling juice from Danish gypsy-brewing global power Mikkeller (soon opening its first New York brew-pub at Citi Field-marking its 32nd location worldwide). This hoppy brew starts tropical-fruity and finishes with a sweet blast of grape.

The Washington Post