Liefmans Goudenband

Brewed by Liefmans (Moortgat)
Style: Sour Ale
Oudenaarde, Belgium

A nice sour ale. Aroma was incredible. Strong vinegar. Smelled like I was dying Easter eggs. Pour was a nice deep brown with a one finger off white/near tan head. Taste was nice and sour. Strong vinegar and acidic flavors with a hint of sour cherries and funk. Not much carbonation and dries the mouth after the sip. With a little more carbonation this would be a 4.

Geproeft in Kroegske Emelgem . Een fruitg aroma met een zoete vanilleachtige basissmaak waarbij een toetsje sprankelende zurigheid aanvoelt. Een zeer diepe smaak die van dit bier een der beste van zijn soort maakt.

Sweet honey malt aroma. Brown red colour with great head and lacing. Bitter malt hop flavour with pepper. Fizzy palate.

[Bottle] Pours clear reddish-brown with a tan head. Aroma is acidic, cherry, caramel and a touch of brown sugar. Taste is sweet, raisin, and a light sourness. Medium mouthfeel and quite smooth. A pretty good beer overall, but I found the taste to be just a slight letdown compared to the aroma.

12.7oz, 2006 vintage. Pours a hazy, dark ruby-brown with some particulates; thin light-tan head with fine-bubbled lacing. Lots of overripe cherries, soft vinegar (nothing sharp), leather and tobacco in the aroma; not as much tartness as I’d like to see, but still a pleasant, fruity malt character that isn’t overly acidic or flabbily full of vinegar (i.e., a solid step up from Duchesse). Medium mouthfeel: very light carbonation; viscous, chewy red and dark fruits, not quite as overripe as the aroma suggests; not a lot of tartness, but the funky, balsamic fruit core is pretty tasty; some pleasant acidity to balance things out, along with a bit of citrus and loads of ripe-to-overripe cherries all throughout this beer. Medium finish, with some breadiness coming through, toasty malts and residual dried cherries; a bit of heaviness left at the far end.

Robust reddened brown look. Cherry vinaigrette aroma, lightly sweet. Warm, brown sugar, reduced berry syrup, maple flavor. Residual sweetness. Swath of cherry flavor, though of a wholly sweet variety, offering only a brief nip of tart turn before the finish. Some balsamic with that waft of aged, musty, dark and gritty sweet; barnlike funk of dusted earthy yeasts. Fairly heavy in the mouth; syrupy body softly carbonated with noticeably peppery heat throughout. Interesting, though not completely suitable, in approach and result; a type of winter sour.

Bottle, from Noel Cuveliers, Abele. Deep caramel, light tan head lingering all the way down the glass. Musty raw sugar aroma, concord grapes, soft sherry alcohol notes. Spicy apple and grape tartness, dry leaves--a combination strongly reminicent of that last surprise warm autumn day, a last flourish before settling in for the long cold. Rummy dark sugar, softly dry salty-tart finish. A very curious beer my brain finds hard to classify. Nevermind, I dig it anyway.

An undeniably meaty beer, which has this flemish brune hint of vinigar in the taste. Slightly sour but very different from the geuzes. The appearance is very yeasty and almost groce while the palate is nice and balance, with an edgy aftertouch. Interesting beer - goes better without food I’ll say.