Liefmans Goudenband

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

Dark red with a beige head. Sweet, figgy, liquorice aroma. Gentle sour taste with cherry and citrus fruits as well as a pleasant bitter aftertaste. Excellent.

"Poured a brown with red highlights, with tiny head. Lots of sediment, large chunks in this. Aroma was sweet and malty. Taste was good, not the typical flemish sour malty spices. Overall good beer. "

Pours a dark brownish red with minimal head. Good sour but weak aroma of apple cider, vinegar, cherries, red wine, grapes. Not as sour as I was expecting. The first taste is of apple juice and it has the same level of sweetness. There is also a hint of cherries and a BIG oak flavor. It finishes with a gentle dry sour aftertaste. I wouldn’t really categorize this as a sour ale - it is refreshingly tart instead. Has a slightly soapy mouthfeel however. This is a unique beer that goes very well with food.

No label on the bottle but packed in paper cover.Tastes a lot like a dubbel but an oud bruin. Cherry, red wine taste.

After my marvelous first experiences with the Flemish Reds tempting the Old Browns seemed a natural step. In appearance alone the difference was clear - or rather, a little more murky. The muddy ruby brown body seems ominously dark in a trappist glass, but lifting it up to the light, the faceted liquid bears more of a coagulated blood color. Above, a fizzy beige head gradually diminishes to a thin cap. Deep brown sugar is immediately obvious in the nose but after a second whiff, caramel and apples join for the chorus. Light cherries and wild strawberries appear quickly thereafter. Pepper, white grapes and Champagne become evident in the flavor with a slight sourness and alcohol bite that seemed slightly deterring in comparison to the aroma. Gentle soap and yeast emerge before the short and dry, sour aftertaste. As the beer warms up, spices develop uncomfortably so I would suggest serving it around 6-7°C.

Thanks to Eric/Indra for this contribution to the KC holiday party. I got the last glass out of the bottle. Red color, hazy head, floaties. Aroma is red wine vinegar, wood, yeast, vanilla. The taste is oak, red wine, red wine vinegar, lemon, orange, and tangerine. I find myself liking the sour beers more and more.

For some reason, perhaps out of folly, the brewers behind Goudenband put together a strange beer that can actually juxtapose itself; a parrot of itself, or a self-manifested riddle. The color is hideously dark; a shadowy dark licorice with a glint of acorn brown when held to a light. By appearance this beer clearly belongs in the Stout clan, but its taste is far too sweet and refined. From the surface of the dark pool of ale rises a festive collection of light, aromatic and breezy smells, including sour apples, fresh cherries and light cedar wood. The look also betrays the tongue, which after the first taste paints an image of showering flower petals; a refreshing and oddly wet beer complete with pine flavors, a salt component, crisp red apples and the same cherries found in the nose. Also of particular remark is the finish, which reminds me more of an amber ale than anything else. Quite a strange composite of flavors, smells and looks, but together it all makes for a delectable quilt of tastes that make up a fine, though oddly disguised, Flemish sour ale.

(2005): Brown with a orange-red glow and a tanned head. Aroma is really good: grapes, cherries, vinegar, wood! Sourness and a nice body ensures you a longlasting and refreshing drink. I recommend!