4.4 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20
33 cl bottle into tulip. "The Key to Heaven." I like that. Botle says best before 5/2/11. I don’t know if that’s an American or European date stamp, so either it’s barely out of date or expired by over three months. I wouldn’t think it would matter either way with a sour. Pours a hazy orange with a medium white head with pretty good retention; leaves a collar and blanket of big-bubbly foam and some lace. Aroma is nice and rank like a sour should be; a little dusty. Taste is nice and sour--pucker up. Has a slight wet dog offnote that doesn’t detract too much from its deliciousness. Carbonation is medium-high, body is medium-full. Very good.
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Draft. Light copper ¼ inch thick head. Lightly sour nose. Almost like a grape jelly and fine white wine. No carbonation, taste is a light sour (sour sweet tarts) Sour comes through more in the finish. A nice pucker as it warms up. Very good overall.
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Draft. Light copper ¼ inch thick head. Lightly sour nose. Almost like a grape jelly and fine white wine. No carbonation, taste is a light sour (sour sweet tarts) Sour comes through more in the finish. A nice pucker as it warms up. High drinkability.
4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Tap @ Theresa’s. Golden, either off clear or dew on the glass. Min head, lace, and carb. Aroma was weak for it was cold. Mouth experience was quite sour, acidic, with plenty of funky, bretty, bacterial going on. Very nice, refined, aged wood, aged apple, with old wooden shed and mild spicy, decaying forest floor notes. Definite Gueuze characteristics.
Went well with the blue cheese, honey, and bread plate. This is a sipping brew, and a good one.
3.4 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
Another good sour ale from West Flanders.
Little to no head. Pale color. I get a little lemon in the taste.
This is not, in my opinion, one of the better sour ales; but it is still quite good.
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Bottle. Clear golden with small white head. Flavour is malt, fruit, sour, little tart, little perfume and a little marzipan.
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
On tap, served in a tulip. Pours a pale gold with a white 1 finger head. A bit of lace is left behind as the head recedes. Aroma is tart green apples and vinegar. Flavor is sour grapes, no pun intended, green apples, but with a sweetness in the finish you wouldn’t expect. Sour, tart palate and thin in body. Complex. Not easy drinking, but enjoyable.
4.5 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 18/20
Appearance: brilliant straw and gold. Bubbly airy egg white head fades bubbly and clumpy – globs stick to sides of glass and float in the middle.
Nose: lemon bars full of zip and zest. Pinot grigio grapes and wine. Essence of wild soured fermentation as the grapes ferment. Oak planks damp with dew. Grape skins and pomace. Cactus.
Palate: lemon prominent with lemon bars, lemon sorbet. Faint sweetness in the back. Pinot grigio in the middle with a touch of tropical tartness – papaya and kiwi. Angel food cake sweetness in the middle, subtle and delicate. Freshly cut oak planks. Pomegranate long in the finish after each swallow. Playful acidity and carbonation.
Final Thoughts: even better than I was expecting. I love beer aged in oak and I love sour. Once more those fabulous Belgians have done it and done it right. May I have another please and thank you.
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