Liefmans Goudenband

I liked to sneak sips of cherry dimatapp as a child, you bring me back... of course, you’re better, subdued cherry malt funk, and you the eight real nice like ... i like you.

Michael Jackson liked it so... me too! A sweet and sour amber Belgian, worth buying to unwrap it like a Christmas present!!! It’s a real Thriller!!!!!

Poured from a bottle. Poured a deep reddish-brown color with a thin off-white head. Aroma of grapes and some funk. Flavor is semi-tart grapes, light oak, and a bit of alcohol. Seems like it should be more complex than it is. I was really hoping this would be more sour, perhaps the bottle I got was just off.

Taste of is tart cherries, light oak notes and light sourness with a bit of alcohol warmth. Aroma is of light cherry and a bit of sourness. Alcohol is well hidden and it’s really a superb beer.

Pours a reddish-brown that gets darker towards the top, with a creamy white head with plenty of lacing. Aroma is funky/earthy and also sweet fruits like black berries and green grapes. Taste is much like it smells but the palate could be better; it falls pretty flat but is still very enjoyable.

37,5cl bottle: vintage 2004. Pours amber reddish with a little creamy off white head. Sour, earthy, sweet, vinous, matured malty. Well balanced. Medium bodied. Notes from sweet malts & fruity berries. Very pleasant, well made & easy drinkable!

Goudenband is well worth searching out (and very hard to get in the US). It pours with an orange-red hue and has a slight haze. It is VERY aromatic with complex aromas of malt, citrus, dark fruits, and I can understand the cheesy notes mentioned by Alan. It is moderately full-bodied, and has a nice amount of hops. It also has a slightly soured note on the palate, which it pulls off beautifully. It also has an extremely lengthy finish.

Cheesehead YeHA, 2006 bottle and 1987 bottle brought by Matt (MrFacto). Most of my rating is based off the 20 year old bottle: Mahogany hued with a foamy head and good lace. The aroma on the 87 is very corky with notes of sweet bread, caramel, oxidized hops, nutty and marzipan. The 06 is very malty sweet and as notes of ripened fruit and walnuts.

The taste of the 1987 is heavy on the malt with a twangy sour cherry character and some cardboardy notes. Both have a nutty and spicy finish. The mouth feel is lush and syrupy, mineral and carbon finish. The 1987 is really good (minus the cork tones) after all these years and developed more complexity than the 1 year old bottle.