Liefmans Goudenband

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

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.

Hardly any head. Brownish in color, cloudy sort of muddy look. Sweet smell is fruity and the flavor is complex, slightly sour but pleasing.

37,5cl bottle from dranken Geerts. very sourish, a mixer of sweet and sour, i don’t like the beer style but next time i will try an aged bottle.

Courtesy of Retorp. 2004 bottle. Pours a dark brown cola color with a thin tan head. Aroma is sweet and malty with notes of honey, caramel, ripe dark fruit, raisins, prunes, molasses and some booziness. Flavor is malty and sweet with notes of caramel and honey, ripe dark fruit, ripe cherries, yeast, bread, and hints of grass. Generally medium body with a pleasing sweet and sour finish.

courtesy of Retorp, ’04 bottle. Pours copper with beige head. Taste is malty with light hops and some very good addition of fruits, dark cherries. God dose of yeast. Amazing balance with the sour and tartness being excellent, almost velvety.

$7.99 bottle from Greens Buford Hwy. 3 flemish browns in a row, and this is the best of them. Lots of maltiness, sweet, but seems drier than the other two. Dark brown amber color. Some buttery oaky barrel in the aroma. Apple cider is lower (which is good) than the other two. Nicely drinkable and refreshing. Chunks of yeast floating around. 8,3,8,3, 17: 3.9

2004 bottle, courtesy Retorp. Pours a tea color, with a fizzy white head and lacing. Aroma is of caramel, some oxidation, not much but enough, some molasses, some must. Aroma is dry molasses and musk, slight dry cider. Crisp, smooth and drinkable, easy to drink despite the oxidation.