Liefmans Goudenband

Brewed by Liefmans (Moortgat)
Style: Sour Red/Brown
Oudenaarde, Belgium

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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Pours very flat; no head if I tried. The aroma is sour cherries. The flavor is starts out malty but finishes tart and fruity; perhaps almost like fruit vinegar. Not as sweet as, say, New Glarus, but this is a real Flemish Sour Ale. Since this is the first I've had of the style, I suppose it could be a bad bottle - but hey, it's sour and Flemish! The palate is nice for the flavor. I really wanted to try this style when I read about it; it meets with my expectations.

Ripe berry fruit nose. Deep blood red colour verging on brown like an aged red wine. Sweet orangey taste. Tastes like a cross between lambic and duvel.

Dark red brown color. Small head. Aroma is tart, sour cherries and musty. A medium bodied Flemish sour. Kind of flat tasting, not very carbonated. Tart and sour, but there is some nice underlying maltyness, but mostly it the sour cherry flavor. This may be an old/bad bottle, as most of the other reviews I’ve read mention the high variability of this beer. If this is an OK bottle that it kind of disappointing. Still very drinkable, but not what I was expecting. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is dry. Aftertaste is tart and a little vinous.

Cognac colored, big tan head that quickly settles to a manageable level. Apples on the aroma, apples and sweettarts on the initial flavors. Follws with a nice ginger/pepper finish.

A dark cloudy brown body, the head is minimal, the lace is quite tenuous. Aroma is alcohol, over ripe fruit, Flavour is sweet, the top light, the finish is tangy, astringent, lightly hopped. Pretty nice change from typical beers.

Dark amber/brown in colour with a fairly thin tan head that subsides quickly. Smells of sour cherries, malt, tart cranberries and a bit of citrus! Medium-Bodied; Tastes initially of malt and a bit of hops with a subtle sourness. Quickly morphs flavour to very sour cherrys, a residual sweetness (from the fruit) and a subtle maltiness. Aftertaste a bit spicey, a bit sour and a bit sweet...quite literally a perfect combination for the style. A pretty good beer, and while not my favourite flemish sour, still very good when compared to other beers! Worth trying, especially if you can regularly find it! I got this 75 cL bottle from fellow ratebeerian and great friend Jon (JonR888710) which he purchased at Lee & Edwards in Roanoke, Virginia and sampled it on 31-August-2003.

UPDATED: APR 16, 2004 this rating is about a beer from 1987...stored at the brewery.. where they still sell it. Of course the beer lost all it's aciddity, and turned into a kind of port wine...excellent palate, los after taste, but no foam, poor it like a wine and eat soft cheeses with it, kind of heaven. Last week i had another bottle out the collection of 1987. This one was fresh s it can be. There was no maderisation at all, there was still the acidity. there was foam. Truly amazing!!

Mahogany liquid. Only slight bubbles rapidly fade away.Low carbonation,but not flat at all. Musty,date,vinegar,malty,&lemon-acidity,notes in the aroma. Soft mouthfeel,silky texture,medium body.Big wood,malt,acidic flavors.Just like taking a bite of lemon. Finish is dry,woody,with just whiffs of sourness. Quite sweet lingerings. Darn tasty beer.

Aroma is sour cherry, vinegar. Malt. Fruity. Copper-red clear with small head. Med body with low carb. Taste is sour fruity-cherry, lemon-lime, raspberry. Like sweet-tart candy. Clean after. Very nice beer.

Very very sour. I thought it was kinda complex and once again very sour.