Liefmans Goudenband

Aroma consists of a very sweet caramel and candy apple coating aroma with some booziness. Has a barley wine esc smell. Pour is brown with an almost non-existant head. There are some floaties and yeast has stuck to the side of the bottle. Sourness is overpowered by the sweetness, cherry, caramel, alcohol and malt. Not really that tart or sour.

12 oz bottle of the 2005 edition. Pours hazy red brown with a bit of sediment at the end of the pour, foamy off-white head. Aroma is sour with some caramel sweetness, apple, dark fruit, and cherries. Flavor has a light sourness with sugary apple juice, grape, cherry. There’s a touch of oxidation, but not an unpleasant one. I have to say this is quite delicious; my only complaint would be that this great flavor doesn’t stay on the tongue long enough.

Tap at Lucky Baldwin’s. Very unique. Aroma is sweet malt and very indiscernible fruit. Color is a deep glossy brown. Flavor bespeaks serious age, which is always a possibility at LB’s. The sharpness had completely worn off and the sugar had a noticeable fruity gloss like that of a Tootsie Pop. Quite an oud bruin.

reddish brown of color with an offwhite head. A sweet/sour aroma with notes of raisins, dark fruits and caramel. a flavor of raisins, dark fruits and weak sour.

375ml Bottle: Sweet, slightly astringent aroma of raisins, figs, dark ripe fruits, slight alcohol, malts, caramel and nuts. Poured brown/amber/ruby in color with no head. Very cloudy. Not sparkling. Full of many large particles throughout. Flavor is heavily sweet and slightly tart. Tastes of malts, raisins, dark ripe fruits, nuts, caramel, light maple syrup, slight tart fruit, and a hint of wood. Medium body. Syrupy, coating texture. Soft carbonation. Sweet, syrupy, coating, malt and dark ripe fruit finish. Called a "sour ale," but there is nothing really sour about it.

Sampled at Backus’ Backyard Bash. Oh damn this was good. Brownish reddish with a small tan head. Sweet and tart berry nose. Sweet, lightly tart flavors, berries and sweet malt. So mellow and well integrated. Delish!

Bottle from Forest City. Pours dark amber-brown with a wispy head and floating yeast. Winey nose of pinot noir, stewed apples, and toffee. Palate is surprisingly clean, with soft carbonation. Initial flavors feature sweet apple, cinnamon, and pear. Well-flavored, with good balance. Finish has back-of-the-tongue acidity, as well as some alcohol burn. This is very drinkable and refreshing, quite a feat for a beer with this kind of depth and full flavor.

From a 355mL Bottle, Vintage 2005. Somewhat transparent, honey amber colored pour with a thick finger of fluffy off-white head. A pleasing, light cherry tartness compliments a supple malt base nicely, one brimming with notes of caramel, toffee, apricots, and plum. Fruity and malty with just a thin small touch of acidity to balance the sweetness of the malt character. Brown sugar and caramelized cherry fruitcake. Medium bodied, lightly carbonated mouthfeel with a soft, supple texture. Lots of malt depth comes out right away, revealing flavors of prune, raisin, and black cherry. Lots of toffee malt sugars, along with a light, sherry sweetness. A mild level of acidity rounds out the finish, helping to lighten the load of the malt driven Christmas fruits. Very mild acetic character with a funky, cheese rind quality. Delicious. Opened a second bottle a couple of days later and while good, that one exhibited a moderate amount of oxidation that made it significantly less delicious, but still quite good.