Cuvée De Ranke

Brewed by Brouwerij De Ranke
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Dottignies/Dottenijs, Belgium

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

Bottle. Nice head with good duration. Color is golden. Aroma and taste are rich brett, straw, malt, leather and is nice and acetic.

Bottle. Dark golden colour with an off-white head. Aroma is cork, cellar notes, sourness, fruit. Flavour is cork, cellar notes, sourness, yeast. very nice beer.

I got to try this back in Nashville thanks to Barrios!!! Hazy gold, thick frothy beige head. Aroma of lemon, funk, sweat, barnyard, oak, sour berries, mint, pineapple. Taste is sour, deliciously dry, lots of funk and tart berry, lemon. Light body, medium high carbonation. This was one of those beers that I don’t want to drink because I just want to keep smelling it.

750ml bottle bottled in April of 2008. Best before 04 2013. It pours into my 25cl geuze glass a clear gold with hues of orangeish amber and a fizzy white head that leaves a bit of lacing. It certainly looks drinkable. The smell is quite geuze like. IT has some intense apple notes, some sour apple, lemon, and other fruit. There is a slight hint of caramel form the malt. It also has some acidity and the oft noted barnyard funk, though the funkiness is kept pretty much at bay in the smell. The flavor is tart and sour. It has some really strong green apple and lemon flavors. Just a nice tart acidity, almost like licking a lemon then eating a granny smith. It has a sweet initial taste but ends with a dry pucker. This is a really nice beer, a refreshing one despite the higher abv.

Clear amber pour with generous carbonation. Sour apple taste with slight malt finish. Would probably be even better aged a few years. Rated 4/16/10

75cl bottle @ VinensVerden, Odense. Pours hazy orange with a small white head that disappears. Aroma is sour, wood, funky, vinegar, fruity, manuer - so balanced, crisp & fresh. Bravo!!!

Aroma is bright with lemon zest and juices, bitter, piny hops, earth, dust, and cheese. Taste is dusty old hops, intense lemon rind, cheese,a bit of band-aid/gauze, and lemon juice. I also get an underlying crisp biscuit base. Finish is sour, slightly bitter, and refreshing. Very good! Bottle consumed best before 2013 (consumed 2010)

A thin, thick-bubbled and lightly milky rim on a resiny amber orange body. Speckled, tightly clung carbonation up the sides of the glass. Dusty, tangy, lightly sweet aroma of mandarin oranges and ginger and lemon juice; sweetness of almond cream and cherries, sinking into a musty, warm horseblanket and peppery yeast push. Sour grapes. Powdery sweetness. Apricots. A surprising, bitter tannic quality of plum skins lends a sophisticated touch that seems right on pitch, even if it’s very unexpected and uncommon in this type of blonde sour. Finally a bit of apple cider vinegar.

Flavor is full, juicy and acidic; mostly a calm fruitiness of apricots, plums, grapefruits, blood oranges, and pineapples; dusty balsamic sweetness, field greens, and a distant malty doughiness of vanilla and toffee lending some body. While the acidity is quite sharp, it doesn’t push the fruit flavors right to the front as it often does when they’re already present; rather, these fruit notes are very quiet and calm, more reminiscent of those found in a smooth white wine than those forced in a violent punch by the bitter citric acids of wild yeasts. This is really an interesting inversion. A blend of tart cherry and salty carrot juice in the middle; one of those indifferently weird moments.

Dank, basementy palate seems quite sparkly in front, but tempers and offers only the gentlest carbonation on a smooth acidic lemon juice texture. Finishes with some minerally bitterness and a sandy, cheesy funkiness. There’s a lot to love in this laid back sour from two of Belgium’s finest; the restraint, the delicate dance of acidity and rich flavor, and the stunning drinkability. An awesome blend.

750 ml bottle via trade with michael-pollack- thanks again, Pollack! Another beer opened in the box and destroyed the bag this came in, so without a label underneath I had to make my own. Looked like homebrew in a dark green bottle. Best by 4/2013. Pours a cloudy golden-orange color with a small white head. Aroma of tart fruits, white grapes, lemon, oak chips, funk, and yogurt. Flavor of oak, lemon, dry grains, herbs, cedar, and a little bit of alcohol shows up. Medium-bodied, with a tart, herbal, funky mouthfeel and moderate carbonation. Incredible smell on this one. Great Belgian sour, and such an interesting blend.

Clear orange pour with vivacious carbonation and a one finger white head. Aroma is of citrus, yeast funk, copious brett character, grapes, apple cider, and farmyard. Flavor is quite tart with lots of light fruit, brett funk, and citrus. Palate is medium bodied, attenuated and dry. Amazing example of the style.