Liefmans Goudenband

My first beer in this style, and it really blew me away. Dark brown with a large foamy head. Very wine like, with lovely tartness. Some sweet malts too, toasty and metallic, making for a great complex palate, and a long finish.

2005 vintage served in a snifter glass. Crystal clear red in color. Lots of floaters and lees from a an greedy pour. Modest, diminishing tan head. Tantalizing aroma of dark sour fruit and a mild caramelized malts. Flavor: Wow! Starts with toasted malt and rapidly turns sour and spicy. Palate is light-medium, richer than expected, and the substantial carbonation sparkles on my tongue. Finish is sour. There is a little lacing left on the glass. This beer is more complex and lacks some of the strong acetic character that is present in many of the other Flemish Sour Ales I have sampled. I am looking forward to the next before I have even finished this one!

this beer is pretty sour. it is also quite a bit dark. pretty nice. starts tasting better the more you drink.

delicious. sour berryish taste. only flaw is its sweetness. complex delicious funkyness.

Dark brown in colour and quite fizzy. Aromas of malt, coffee, a bit of smoke, stewed prunes, and sour red berries. In the mouth it’s fairly malty to start, but the red berry, sour cherry, and earthy hop undertones show themselves mid-sip. Eventually we move into more woody, vanilla territory with some vineous and light lemon sourness carrying through until the end. The richness of the palate and the fizzy carbonation seem at odds rather than achieving some sort of balance. A bit too sweet and heavy to be considered top class, but still very damn good.

0.375l bottle at the Hopdevil in Zagreb
Poured a murky, dark. opaque red-brown colour with only a small dirty white ring of head. A distinct red wine-like nose, berries, a bit acidic, a touch of malt and yeast. Fresh and likable. The taste is very pleasant and the mouthfeel is superb. Berries, wood, yeast (funky), weak notes of prickly pear and/or bubblegum. A nice, "medium" (for a FSA) acidity, that carries loooong in the aftertaste. Not a tremendous variety of notes and flavours, but what little it has merges perfectly to create a harmonious taste, and no off tastes like in some other FSAs. All in all, a fine, very fine FSA.

Flemish sours are becoming one of my favorite styles and this one is one of the reasons why. Pours dark bronze with a soapy light tan head. The aroma is sour and musty with dark cherries, toasted malt and vanilla. Medium body that is sharp and crisp while having a grainy feel and some light semi-soft carbonation. Starts with more malt than expected that is quite toasty. There is also sharp spice, grainy malt, cherries and light wood. The finish has a pleasing sharp citric bite and a rush of peppery spice. Thumbs up for this well crafted Flemish Sour ale. (original rating - 7/4/8/3/15 - 3.7)

Rerate notes: Mainly bumping up numbers from my original rating. The only aspect I see missing from the original notes is the noticeable presence of alcohol that is not customary to the style ~ although it is a pleasing warmth. Excellent beer.

bottle from total wine. dark amber brown, decently carbonated. aroma is mild sourness, some malt in the back. medium body, the flavor is a long-sitting caramel/fruit maltiness that immediately mixes with a tart fruit element that finishes a delightful shade of tart. perfectly balanced. this is a gem. Notes from the big bottle of ’87 we had at ’t Brugse Beertje. clear on the edges, opaque red in the center, tan head (surprisingly carbonated). Flavor is up front tart cherries, some caramel, woodsy, and then any initial sweetness is obliterated by a bone-dry, vinegar/sherry finish. Hazelnuts, and a bit of oxidization. For 20 years, brilliant. Probably better at 10 years, though.