Liefmans Goudenband

375 ml bottle, looks to be very fresh, just put on the shelf at Sam’s in Durham. OK cork says 2007.Very acetic nose. Medium carbonation. Little to no hop aroma. Nice acid bite. Taste a very ripe pineapple like ester. Taste old dried organic unsulphured apricot fruit leather. Almost like tutti-frutti- a hint of maraschino cherry. Quite a flavorful dance going on. Really an explosion. Could never be duplicated by anyone. Has a very rich old world character. I should always keep a stash of this. A must try.

Pours a deep brown with red highlights. Aroma is that of balsamic vinegar. The taste is much more complex with dark fruits, caramel and licorice balanced by a thirst-quenching tartness. Very little Brett character at all. Finishes dry. Flat out wonderful.

VERY SWEET TASTE AND SMELL .IT HAS HINTS OF CHERRY. HIGH ALCOHOL WELL HIDDEN. I AGED IT ABOUT 2 YEARS AND IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT.

i only had a small sample of this, but the aroma reminded my of a nice brandy, it had a nice mild dry sourness to it, and a dry acidic finish..this one is good to drink early

Courtesy boboski. 2004 vintage. Pours a semi-transparent, cloudy, medium brown color. A fizzy tan head fades to a wispy film, with minimal spots of lacing dotting the glass. The aroma is lightly sour and fruity, with a sweet caramel malt component. Oak and vanilla add smoothing complexity. Flavors of tart caramel apple work wonderfully with the soft oak and mild, tannic alcohol. This is so incredibly drinkable, in great part due to the lighter body and subtle carbonation. The mouthfeel reminds me of a fine prosecco, while the flavor is all sweet and sour goodness. I suspect that this excellent brew has hit its prime at 4 years of age, but I can imagine it fantastic when fresh as well. I’ll be getting more of this, for sure.

In short: A woody/oaky slightly sour fruity ale. Amazingly drinkable.
How: Bottle, 375ml (age unknown). From HogTownHarry, thanks a lot Harry
The look: Cloudy light-brown with lots of little particles. Small off-white ring of foam.
In long: Taste of cherries, oak barrels, red apples skin, more wood, a little caramel, some prunes and some tree bark. Light-medium sourness, just a little acidity in the finish. As far as Sour Ales are concerned this one is way below average on the sourness level. The sourness level might be low but the drinkability level is very high. I had to acquire this bottle through a trade to rate it although five+ years ago this was widely available in quebec. I wish I could go back to year 2000 when it was available in quebec and stack a whole bunch of these in my cellar… and sell my Nortel stocks.

So my rating #300 is this special and famous sour ale, very probably retired. For the opportunity to try it I had to thank Doggythedog so much!
0.375 l bottle, wrapped in a paper as label, its bottle poured reddish-brown body with ocher head. Sourish aroma, yeasty, vinegar with sweet malt. Well, the flavor is definitely not typical, not so sour as would be expected, quite rich, roasted malty, with caramel, brown sugar, chocolate and even a bit of dark fruits could be felt. Still, it was not really full bodied, which leaves empty impression from time to time despite richness of this brew. Finish is unbelievably short, but very nice, following the flavor. A decent milestone beer, unusual and interesting experience.

Bottle shared by emacgee and aubreya. Thanks yall! I like the picture on the label. I wish I had an outfit like that guy (and a bunch of barrels of sour beer!) Anyway, like Ethan, I found this rather mild. Aroma and flavor of cherries, wood, malt, and yeast--very mild tartness. I didn’t think it tasted like a kriek, just a mild flemish sour. Very smooth palate with the alcohol well hidden. Enjoyable, but not necessarily memorable.