Natty Greenes Oak Aged Flanders Sour Ale

Formerly brewed at Natty Greenes Pub & Brewing Company
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Greensboro, North Carolina USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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On cask at World Beer Festival in Durham. Surprisingly bold style from this brewery. Pours hazy peachy red/pink with thin white head. Has some distinct lacto notes as well as strawberry and cherry. A little yogurty. Not overly sour. Tasty, though.

Originally reviewed: 11/15/09. Had this on tap for it’s final release at Stick & Stones in Greensboro. Came out a ruddy copper color with just a ring of foam around the edge on top. No lace present. Smells of fresh apples, some light barn funk, yeast, wisps of booze, cherries. Wow. The scent is wonderful on this beer. The mouth is bit on the light side. Some light carbonation present on the tongue. This is fairly slick going down. The oak presence smooths this one just right. Tart apples right off the bat on this beer. Nothing puckering, just a light sour beer that is very pleasant. Mild sweetness on the finish of cherry cobbler. Hop bitteress is low. I could drink these all night. Too bad this was the final night of this beer. Here’s hoping they bring it back one day.

Draft @ Hickory Hops 2011, Hickory, NC. Pours a hazy orange color with a small off-white head. Has a fruity sour tart light woody aroma. Fruity sour tart acidic flavor with weak hints of oak and citrus. Has a sour tart oaky finish.

A reddish amber ale with a thin moka head. In aroma, light sour cherries and vanilla notes. In outh, a rather light interpretation of the style, with light sour lactic notes, epsom salt, overall, light and nice. On tap at Great North Carolina Brewers Fest., August 28 2010.

Sampled at WBF in Raleigh. Pours light brown with a very short head. Faint tart berry and sour aromas. The flavor is much more prominent: big sour fruit, vinegar, and funk. A very nice, and unexpected, good beer from Natty Greenes.

UPDATED: JAN 9, 2011
Name: Oak Aged Flanders aka Grand Cru
Date: April 17, 2010
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewfest, Hickory Hops
Appearance: hazy orange, frothy beige head
Aroma: big tart aroma, touch of fruity sweetness to balance the fruity tartness, light oak
Flavor: huge sour flavor, enough lactic to make your eyes water, light malty sweetness, just a touch of oak
Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.1/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: ** /4

Thanks to the NC boys for letting me try this one at pre-sex. A: Pours an amber like shade of brown with a small off white head. S: Nice light sour aromas. Tart cherry, vinegar, oak, and a dash of crushed sweet tarts. T: Lightly sour. Tart cherries, lemon zest, and mild vinegar. The oak is there in a mild sort of way as well. Nothing to bold here, nice light flavors that tend to meld really well. M: On the lighter side of medium, nice light carbonation to carry the flavors. D: One I would love to try again. Great little beer from a brewery I had never even heard of.

Several samples enjoyed at Pre-Sex. Faint oak and tartness in the nose, dry to complement the fizz. Medium amber color, could be midway between a cider and a lambic to look at it. Vibrant flavors, cherry isn’t overwhelmingly sour, just well integrated and balanced, with oak and mild lactic quality bringing up the rear. Bottle this!

Maroon body with light carbonation. Aroma is cherry skin, balsamic vinegar and oak. Flavor is much of the same. I really enjoyed this brew, hopefully one day it will find its way into bottles. Not super sour but more then tart

Draft at WBF Durham. Best of the festival, IMHO. Multiple samples. We lived at the end of the tent where this was for 30 minutes, easy, drinking this stuff. Maroon bodied. Aroma is sour fruit, wet wood, and light vinegar. Taste is sour cherries, cherry skins, lemon juice, wet oak, and cat urine notes. Mild sweetness in the back. Body si tart and acidic while being light -medium overall. No real carbonation to speak of though it wasn’t really flat. Ends with more sour cherries, light lemon, wet wood, cat urine and berries. Very nice stuff!

WBF. Man, I was not expecting to see this one. Pours a translucent copper with no head. Nose is fruity, sweet, tart, mildly acidic. Flavor is a tad thin, cherry skins, tart, lacking a bit of complexity. Palate is mildly tart. Didn’t get much oak. Good to see the attempt though, definitely glad that someone in NC is doing this.