Bacchus

Brewed by Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck
Style: Sour Red/Brown
Ingelmunster, Belgium

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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bottle from chevy chase. aroma is all lactic acid. dark red with only slight tan head. suprisingly light body (it’s low alcohol, but i still didn’t expect a light body). flavor is malty candy (apples? cherries), with a pleasantly mild tart finish. the most mellow flemish red that i can remember tasting. i like it.

(25cl bottle) Many thanks to Boutip for obtaining this for me. Pours a thin, beige, creamy head with a reddish, lightly carbonated body. As mentioned below it is rather balsamic but with a old, sweet cherry alure. The flavour of a tart apple cider with cherry and mild malt linger. Average.

Earthy and vinous aroma with plenty of balsamic, acidic cherries apparent. Very dark reddish brown coloured body is topped by a large bubbled, low, light brown head that recedes rapidly to ring and thin partial cover. Fairly sweet, round malt character with plenty of cherries notable, some chocolate and a mild leafy, woody character that is joined by a lasting mineral flavour lasts in the aftertaste. Dry medium body with fairly low carbonation and a fairly thin texture. Snifter. Just above fridge temperature. Bottle (Bièropholie, Nov-05).

Best by 05/2006 25cl bottle from Secret Santa Boutip. The beer pours to a chestnut brown body with a off-white soap water head. Heavy lacing (slides down glass). The aroma is earthy red wine and dates with obvious balasamic vinegar and corn bread. Very strange but nice. The flavor is where this beer falls apart. Extremely mineral in flavor/palate. Also included are sugary sweet brown sugared cherries. I don’t think "Flemish Sour Ale" at all...

Clear deep bronze, slightly lacing off-white head. Corn and chlorine hinting nose gives us fears of DMS, but otherwise, it’s gently woody, slightly balsamic and leading us into a leafy mildness that is not unpleasant. Rather mineral palate, growing sweet brown sugar character, rather vegetal, leafy, nutty with faint chocolate powder undertones. Low carbonation induces a syrupy aspect that is not welcome. Rather thin body despite this. Low-scale oud bruin.

[Bottle, ~15C]
Deep brown/reddish color. Aroma reminds red wine/grapes and dark fruits. Little sourness. Taste goes a little more tart/sour, but nothing very impressive. As pointed by MartinT, carbonation is a little to high compared to what I’ve come to expect from a Flemish sour. I felt notes of oxidation too that would suggest that the bottle was getting old and might explain the carbonation. Has a medium body that tends to get a little boring.

The Lure:
Biscuity malts lie below the black grapes and red wine vinegar allusions. Caramel sweetness attempts to cover the DMS, but cannot completely.

The Festivities:
Shallow tartness for the style, and a little more effervescent than I usually like. Some cherries and berries turned into a light wine. A quaffable oud bruin, but not one to keep me busy for long.

Transcendence:
The desk is nearly empty.

Lightly hazy, brownish amber color. Sour patch kids aroma. It’s sweet but lightly sour (very candy like). A bit sharp but pleasant with a hint of balsamic. Very enjoyable. The flavor is interesting and overall easy to enjoy (unlike the more demanding La Folie). Lightly sour fruit (peach and leachy) and some semi-sweetness. If there are any “barn yard” flavors they are subdued and secondary. The body is medium and smooth with an easy carbonation (gets a bit watery in mouth feel as it warms). I’ve had a few sour ales, but the ones I’ve had up to this point have been to demanding for my palette. I really enjoyed this and thought of it as beginner sour ale. Thanks Boutip!

Bottle, thanks for the trade Boutip. Dark brown, small bubbly tan head. Semi-sour aroma. Medium silky mouthfeel. Sour taste but not mouth puckering. There is a nice underlying sweetness here. The medium body balances the sweetness quite nicely. Very simple - not a ton of flavour. I enjoyed it.

UPDATED: NOV 17, 2005 Iv been getin soo into these flemish sour ales of recent times that i just feel as though every beer i taste should be like them. This is a great example and very similar to the Vichtenaar i had last week. Aroma is complex with red wine vinigar adding to pickled beetroot and some red wine too. Taste is great with not to much sweetness as a good thing. Alround such a great great beer that i could drink for days.