Liefmans Goudenband

IT was really good, like one of my new pals said, you can stash it until a great time comes, like when one of my kids, if I ever got one at least, gets married.

The aroma was soury dark fermented fruit, slight barnyard, and candy notes. The flavor was soury dark fermented fruit, candy sweetness and berries. The beer poured a cloudy medium brown color w/ thin lasting head and lacing. The mouthfeel was light to medium bodied, creamy, and a dry finish.

Bottled. Brownish red colour, mediumsized brownish head. Aroma is bitter fruity with strong cherryish notes. Flavour is plummy, bitter and has hints of cherry and strawberry. Long dry bitter aftertaste.

A Mes rate: A delicate slightly tart nose that is clearly a flemish brown with some extra candy floss thrown in for good measure. Wonderful murky (I know thats not a word that is usually used next to wonderful but I’m gonna go with it) chestnut brown appearance with a lovely thick head that unfortunately settles reasonably quickly to just a very thin film. This has the laciest looking lace of any beer I have had so far. Handcrafted by an old Belgian lady in a pinafore I am sure. Fruits are coming at me from all different directions. There is earth and leather and straw underneath too. Rich and complex and just very very good indeed. Think of a more delicate stronger Rodenbach or Odnar and you are not too far off. YUM

Bottle: 2001 vintage. Aroma of cherry, vinegar, wood, and alcohol. Pours a dark reddish-orange with lots of sediment and almost no head, just a few bubbles. Very tart and one of the most aour/tart Flemmish sours that I’ve had. Very lemony with light cherry. Very puckering finish with moderate woodiness. Flat mouthfeel.

Dark red brown. White beige head. Aroma: vanilla, red wine and raisins. Taste is sourish, smooth, sweet and malty. Creamy and nuanced. Tones of marzipan. Tastes great, sour, rich and mature.

2003 bottle...ruddy reddish brown pour that is polluted with floating substances, like the Hudson River. Medium off white head. Cardboard aroma. Earthy acidic yeastly aromas also. Raisin, plum flavors, earthy, roasted somewhat. Acidic, iron, rust. Chocomaltiness to finish. This is interesting and complex! I imagine that the aging did this well.

375mL bottle. 2003 bottle came wrapped. Pours a VERY dark ruby with tons of nasty HUGE, chunky floaties and a thin tan head. Dark fruits in the aroma, but what stands out is the yeast and vinegar. Grapes, prunes, pears and vinegar make up the bulk of the flavor with hints of oak, vanilla and cherries in the background. Like a watered-down wine. A disappointment after the Kriekbier.