Liefmans Goudenband

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

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.

Thanks to Facto for the 20 year old (1987) bottle!! Poured deep reddish-brown with a surprisingly existent cap of medium beige head. The aroma picked up deep darker fruits, caramel, and brown sugar with very little bitterness.. the malty layers play well with a low-to-moderate cherry sourness. The flavor had warmer cherries and some simple dusty sugars along with other red fruits.. grainy cherry bitterness rides through the finish.. sourness was moderate at most, and provided a nice layer of complexity. Medium-ish bodied with decent balance.. I was expecting more sourness, but it worked well as-is.

It’s January 2006 and this brew is from 2004 Lot. D - expires 2014. Mahogany red with a very nice, creamy head. The aroma is vinous and malty with notes of caramel. The flavour is vinous and slightly sour, but not nearly as sour as expected from a beer of this style. It’s also slightly sweet and has brief notes of apple, then more like berries, malt, caramel, fruit and a hint of nuts. Actually it’s quite complex.

Vintage 2006 dark brown pour w/ red hints and a nice thick off white head w/ thick lacing. Nice aroma dark fruits hints of syrups touch of apple sweet sugars. Palate is nice well coated. Very sweet flavor, where is the sour for the sour ale? I’m not sure where that comes in it does have a very dry finish though.. syrups and dark fruits dominate. 1987 vintage thanks to Matt definite corked aroma to begin even sweeter than the new by quite a bit. so much syrups

Slight vinous aroma. Affrighting, lots of big yeasty chunks in a cream soda colored brew. Almost looks like it’s rotten. Very scary looking. Mild creamy fizziness. Frabjous, somewhat tart, taste bud sensation but alky quietly peeks thru. Not quite as sour as I expected. A little disappointing, though good. Finish is mildly medicinal, probably due to the alky content.

A murky brown brew with musky aroma’s of blue cheese, cherry, plum, dark sugar, oak and cigar box. On the palate it is sweet, and citric. Dried fruits, maple syrup, lots of CO2, also lemon and apple. Shame about the excessive sweetness, but the addition of sweetening syrup was to be expected from this brewery. However, this is surprisingly complex and balanced, a pleasant surprise from the dreaded Liefmans.

Bottled at Tre små rum, Göteborg, Sweden. Deep reddish with a minimal foam. Quite complex fruity aroma with cidery apples and red and dark berries, along with notes of wood. Light to medium in body with prickling carbonation. Almost perfect balance with a light swetness balanced by a fresh acidity.