Browerij Bavik has been using the same wild base to make elaborate, award-winning Belgian Sours for five generations. When famed beer writer Michael Jackson tasted their base straight from the barrel, he insisted that Bavik bottle it alone as a beer in its own right. Petrus Sour Pale Ale, Bavik’s greatest masterpiece, was born and the brewery’s history was made.

Declared “World’s Best Specialty Pale Ale” in 2011 and “Best Wood-Aged Flavored Beer” in 2013, Petrus Pale enjoys deserved widespread praise across the globe.

Extended aging in oak barrels with wild Belgian yeast brings an intense sour bouquet mingling with notes of apple, white wine and faint pale malts. Tart, with a solid oak backbone, Petrus has a stunning citrus complexity and each flavor announces itself on the palate: orange, cherry, lemon. Its fizzy carbonation, light body, and drying mouthfeel make it comparable to Brut champagne.

Petrus is a Belgian Sour that stands apart from the rest. Made like a single malt whiskey – every sip reveals each of its original components with a stunning clarity that carries your worries away.

Rated 98 from the BeerAdvocate Bros, 93 on RateBeer