Ichtegems Grand Cru

Brewed by Brouwerij Strubbe
Style: Sour Ale
Ichtegem, Belgium

Served with very little head and no lace. Color is a dark, cloudy brown with some reddish highlights. Maybe a little light struck: some burnt rubber/skunk. Flavor’s not quite as skunky as aroma and I get some of the nice tart malt with fruit in the background. Had another bottle of this here recently and it was much better - no skunk. Good mouth and carbonation. Skunk’s gone at the end. Good finish. No sense of the alcohol at all. I’d try another.

Bottle into snifter. Really dark read pour that proves clear if held to light. Very light khaki head that fades to a ring pretty fast. Nice roma, but not to style. This is no flemish red. No sourness. Vanilla, oaky, sweat malt (almost as if some brown belgian candi sugar is in there). Flavor is not good. Soyish, watery, sweet, off or old belgian candi sugar. Medium bodied with medium to light carbonation. Overall: overpriced and deceptive given its proclaimed style.

Bottle. Pours a barely clear dark ruby brown with a medium to large dense lightly tanned beige head. Wine cork, light fruit, grapes, a bit of funk and must. Medium bodied, sweet and tasting a bit like a fruit soda…nothing like what the aromas had me anticipating. Almost no acidity, or funky bite. Little bit of almost a chocolate flavor, mostly towards the end of the finish. A bit chalky and dry.

Pours a deep crimson with an airy beige head. The nose does not suggest any sourness, only sweet red fruits and light malts. The flavour is initially sweet pear, plum and other red fruits (possibly candied), fading into some corn syrupy malts, and very mild tartness. The finish is short-lived and artificially fruity and toffee-like, maybe caramel. The carbonation is a bit on the soft side, but the texture is silken and rather nice, despite the watery finish.

750 ml bottle. It poured a very dark liquid with reddish tones and a very small foam. The aroma was sour and fruity with red berries. The flavor was sour, sweet, with red berries and a hint of red wine. It also had some sweetness. Very nice, I like this kind of beer.

Tan head. Sour kraut with slight metalic aroma. Mild sour with oak barrel flavor. A good simple sour beer.

Pours with a fairly clear medium brown body. Funky sour aroma. Nicely tart flavor with just enough unerlying sweetness to balance it nicely.

11.2 oz. bottle. Appetizing, sour aroma features apple, salt, rhubarb, and crabapple scents. Pours a hazy, almost opaque maroon to dull medium brown. Small amount of beige head. Sour, clean taste. Finish is slightly metallic and features a grapefruit or blood orange tang. Bubblegum and lemon juice flavors. Some light, dry bitterness. Easy to drink. Light to medium body. Lively in the palate. Ichtegem’s Grand Cru is not remarkable, but it certainly is drinkable.