Liefmans Goudenband

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

37,5 cl bottle @ biergasthof schiffner. Lovely smell of freshly baked bread. Its dark mahogany brown in colour with a brown head. Marvelously balanced between its sweet start and tart finish. Simply gorgeous and fresh.

1.5L bottle, cork stamped 1999 and the bottle states "The Perfect Provision to Celebrate the Year 2000" So its at least 8 years old, 3 of these showed up in the liquor store and for 25 bucks, I grabbed one. After drinking this I may have to go get the others. Currently the oldest beer I have had and I would love to get a new one for the sake of comparison, suffice to say this one was incredible. After removing the cork created a generous amount of foam in the bottle, I poured into my snifter and had a deep brown ale that let little if any light through the body, a small off white head disappeared quickly despite a lot of carbonation feel in the mouth. The nose is sour berry fruits, cherries, currents, etc. The taste is a beautiful sour ale that starts slightly sweet and finishes with a nice tartness that accompanies the final alcohol finish. It does hide the 8% extremely well. A fantastic beer and since it was already aged for me, a great value. Re-rate: Had one bum 2006 bottle but the other 2006 I had was incredible, everything from the 1999 without the light oxidation, pleasantly tart and sweetly malty. First rate: 7:5:8:3:17 Re-rate: 8:4:9:4:18

355 ml bottle, best before 2015 on cap, 2005 imprinted on cork. Purchased at Gomer’s in Lenexa, Kansas. Pour is mahogany, mostly clear, though there are some yeast floaties visible. THe head is off white, and fades rather quickly. Aroma of wood, earthiness, mustiness, and tart cherries. Some sourness, though this is certainly beneath the other aromas. Taste is quite soft, with a very approachable cherry tartness at teh lead, with a silky, full body beneath featuring all of the sour, earthy, wood components of the nose. Nicely structured beer, nothing really seemed out of balance. The finish has fruit, and some sharp vinegar. Overall, very interesting and nice.

Vintage 1982 tasted 2007. Wow. Probably the best beer I have ever had. The 25 years have done wonders for the flavor of this masterpiece. Tasted at the original brewery (which now only brews as the fermentation and packaging are done elsewhere). Bottle pulled out of the cellars which still contain cases and cases of 1980’s era Oud Bruins, so check it out if in the area. Hazy reddish brown. Some head. Amazing portlike aromas. Sourness: acidic and tart and horse and sweat. Rich sweetness as well. Wonderful delicate balance between sweet and sour. Huge sour flavors and major sweetness battle, or rather dance. An incredible experience. Thank you Liefmans for having the forsight to keep that cellar.

Chocolately brown pour and small white head. Smells very sour and tart. Cherries, alcohol. Malty, oaky, earthy, woody-cherry flavors and nice sour, sweet finish. I do like this beer.

Looks like whiskey. No head. Smells like sour malt an tastes the same. Sour ales are not my favorite. The alcohol taste abd smell doesn’t help.

375 ml bottle

I found this at a local store and decided to pick it up. Not being sure of the future of Liefmans it seemed as good a time as any to sample one of their easier drinking styles. To me this is not an intensely sour beer but rather one with a nice tartness. After filtering out the sediment from a bad pour (my fault) you are left with a very enjoyable product.

Aroma / Appearance - The short lived head smoothly collapsed into the mahogany body underneath. Black cherries, wood and caramel glazed brownies made a potent trio that lured me in with its tightly woven textures. As it warmed things really began to open up.

Flavor / Palate - The start is a sour dryness that hints of early spring in an old forest. Molasses comes next as if one was to have tapped a tree and let the sap flow. The final touch is a smooth sugar texture that tastes like flat Dr Pepper. With the tart finish this one has a little bit of everything. If it were more affordable I might drink it on a fairly regular basis. As it is I can imagine this going into the list of safe fallback beers.

3/7/08 - On Draft at Ginger Man in Dallas. Pours brown with amber hues, foamy, thick beige head topping it. Nose is sour, slight smoke, fruit. Great sour fruit taste, apple pear and plum, some hints of vinegar, but balanced well with the maltiness. Very good.