Grand River Oak Aged Ploegers Vlaams Rood

Formerly brewed at Grand River Brewing
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Cambridge, Canada

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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Bottle, pours brown, aroma is light and the beer is a bitter and not very smooth, a bit sour, overall not super enjoyable

500ml bottle thanks to jprime.
Appearance : Clear deep amber with small foamy white head. Some lacing.
Aroma : Plums and peaches with light wood. Lots of fruits. Light floral notes. Oxidation.
Palate : Carbonation is pretty soft.
Taste : Lots rich fruit jam light oxidation with quite a lot of wood. Finish quite woody with light oak sourness. Finish is quite woody, slightly harsh with lots of fruits and a light sourness. Some oxidation too. Light floral notes coming from the whiskey.
Overall : Fruitiness is a bit flabby and cloying. Sourness is very mild, barely enough to call this a sour ale. Interesting wood. Whiskey is quite present but not too much. I’m not so sure that this type of barrel aging fits well with with this style of beer. Overall rather disappointing, not sour enough. Barely acidic.

Pour ruby dirty brown tan thin head but with ridiculous lace. Aroma sour, tannin, oak, wood, earthiness, cherry, funk. Taste very balanced mild sour, big barrel taste, wood, oak, cherries, earthy, vanilla has aged well. MF medium body mild carb. Very well balanced outstanding flavors and probably the best GRB brew to date. Very well done.

500 ml bottle from the brewery, served cool in a tulip glass. BOTTLED SEPT 24 2010. 04DE10.

App.: Deep ruby-copper, clear, large pillowy, light tan head. Aroma: Rich toffee and crunchy malts, some sour cherries, a little sharp funk, brown sugar, slightly oxidized dark dried fruits, some wood notes, I guess some whiskey notes?, a meaty/savoury note, fairly interesting and complex if a little cloying. Palate: Medium+ body, restrained, fine effervescence, slightly slick/syrupy. Flav.: A hue wallop of woody, fruity, malty, slightly smoky, slightly tangy, touch funky...beer; there’s a note that reminds me of burning candle wax; off dry with some tang and a lot of bitterness with some fruit and more candle wax.

I prefer the original version.

[3388-20100924] Tap. Fruity nail polish cherry aroma with a mild sour yeast hint. Murky, dark brown body with a quick foamy off-white and some lacing. Bitter sour yeast and cherry malt flavour with a bit of raspberry. Medium body. Interesting fruity characteristics but the plastic cherry is odd.
(@ Volo, Toronto, ON)

Sampled at a local tasting. Clouded rusty-colored murky brew with little heading. Very demure carbonation. Aroma is sour tart, fruity and musty. Thin body and mouth feel. Taste: Front is dominated with the lactic acidity and fruity notes the malts sit layered under this predominant flavor, one gets some musty woody side notes...finishes tart and slightly puckering. A very good attempt at a Flanders sour ale...best so far in this local market however the sour mash process limits the intensity of this brew.

Draught at Volo. Pours a hazy ruby with a small diminishing foamy off-white head. Aroma of oak, sour fruit and alcohol -- kind of strawberry jam-like. Flavour of tart fruit, wood, lactic sourness and alcohol. I don’t care for the finish at all. More complex then i described. Medium bodied. An interesting beer and pretty good overall.

On tap at Volo. Pours a cloudy slightly orange-ish brown with moderate-sized tan head. Aroma is sour, with some berry fruitiness, light oak and an earthy hopiness. Taste follows but more robust. Fine carbonation. Impressive.

2010-09-24. Murky dark red brown body with a good sized frothy beige head. 3+ Flavour is a bit weird at first, raisins, lactic sourness, light woody character with hints of oxidation, touches of tangy ovaltine like character is something I know but can’t put my finger on it. Hints at cherry but not quite. 6+ Interesting aroma, odd touch to the fruity character, like decomposing cherries, relatively mild aroma with a pervasive "funk" that is different from the usual funk of say a lambic, muted wood character. Smooth average to medium bodied palate. 3+ I don’t really know to think about this one. It is very interesting, lots of nuance but the over layer is perplexing me today, and makes it a bit hard to finish. Tap at Volo, Toronto

Goblet at Volo, September 24, 2010. Cask? Or draught? I honestly can’t remember now. Dark red, cloudy, smallish foamy off-white or tan head (3+). Smells ... mmmm. See, I love the regular Vlaams, and this is like that only moreso - I got a bit of oak, definite alcohol, pungent dry cedar and herbal bitterness, and strawberry jam for days - both in the aroma and taste - that "jam" even seemed a bit rank, not spoiled, but pungent, sweaty ... lovely. Everyone else was making a face, but they’re wrong (heh heh!) this was chewy, acidic, dry, sticky, half-decently carbonated, and took forever to reach its bitter, somewhat funky/alcoholic finish. Decidedly sweet and sour. Could I drink a pitcher? Hellz nah. Will I jump at the chance for another pint? You bet!!