Rodenbach Caractère Rouge

Brewed by Brouwerij Rodenbach (Palm)
Style: Sour Red/Brown
Roeselare, Belgium

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

A steady pour into my Bruery tulip produces a two finger thick, pale pink tinged, pale tan colored head. The beer is a concentrated red color, not unlike a dark cherry; when held up to the light the beer shows a light haze, and a bright red hue. The beer has a touch of a children’s aspirin type fruitiness to it, perhaps even a bit like fake Concord Grape, but really the bright, lush raspberry character is the dominant note to the aroma. I believe the cranberry character is noticeable here, towards the end it smells like sweet cranberry juice a bit, the cherry plays a supporting role to the raspberries helping to give them more of a rounded, berry like character.

The beer starts out a little dry up front, but picks up a sweetness pretty quickly which lingers on the palate through to the finish where the acidity finally dries things out again. Not as sweet as I was expecting, Alexander was sweeter, but it certainly could be quite a bit drier as well. The sweetness accentuates the fruit character, once again raspberries are prominent, but the cherries are much more noticeable in the flavor, including a bright, flavorful cherry skin character, while I don’t specifically recognize the cranberry notes. There is lots of acidity here, the cranberries definitely contribute to this, as do the cherries and raspberries, the base beer contributes most of the acidity though, with a lactic acidity providing a rounded note and a hint of acetic character providing some additional bite. The beer definitely has a children’s aspirin flavor to it, especially in the finish at times, and this also seems a bit chalky in the texture at times. The beer is fairly light bodied, it definitely has some heft to it, but somehow the fruit character makes it seem lighter than it might otherwise be. The oak is light, but provides some firmness to both the flavor and the texture, though it is not overtly noticeable.

This is definitely a fruit focused beer, not nearly as cloying as the New Glarus Fruit beers, and not as fruit rich as some traditional Lambics. I wish that more of the base beer came through, the rich caramelized maltiness, and the firmness of the base beer is certainly missed here with this fruit focus. Still note a bad beer in the end, just one that has much more potential.

December 29, 2012 - bottle at Brett’s tasting. Rose red pour with limited head. Fruity (cherry & raspberry), dry and bubbly.

Thanks to bu11zeye for sharing this bottle. The beer pours a reddish color with a white head. The aroma has some light vinegar notes, as well as some sour cherries, toffee and light funk. The flavor is similar. The sour cherries and funk come through up front. There is also some toffee and vinegar in the flavor. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

Bottle (750 ml) batch #2. Reddish-brown with ruby highlights and small quickly diminishing head. Aroma of red fruits, wood, slight sourness and, as stated before by JulienHuxley, slight weird notes of menthol. Taste is an explosion of red fruits (raspberries, cherries and cranberries), slight sweetness, wood and slight sourness. Light to medium body. Soft carbonation. Mouthfeel is winey. Another very good beer by Rodenbach and lots of similarities with Rodenbach Alexander. Very complex and probably one of the most fruity beer I’ve tasted so far.

Bottle at Chriso New Year 2012/13. clear red almost no head. pippy raspberry aroma lovely. sour beer thats good. locely pippy wild srawberry. bit of funk on aroma. really good

Bottle. Clear red body with an averaged sized, quickly diminishing off-white (pink) head. Aroma/taste: strong flavours of balsamic vinegar, sourness, strawberries, vinous, barnyard, slightly acidic. Light bodied, moderate carbonation.

Bottle. Deep ruby maroon color, small tan head that settles quickly. Aroma of plums and cherries. Taste is sour and slightly acetic cherry, blueberry, dates.

Bottle. Clear red pour, smallish head. Aroma is ultra fruity, nice blend of cherry and raspberry, some cough syrup notes, menthol, light oxidization. Taste is perfectly sour and fruity, really well balanced, just perfect, I could drink it all day. Palate is tart and dry but medium bodied with soft carbonation. The aroma is a little off but this beer is delicious.

75cl bottle. Brown and clear liquid with small, lightly red head. Nose : pickled cherries, wood notes and other cooked fruit aromas. Some little tart also mingles into this bouquet. Sip : the body is oily and it sparks are very fine, the same as a fruit compote lightly fermented. The taste is remarkable. Many different layers ; it attacks with a strong sweet and sour fruity flavor and adds up sour and a bit dry wooden notes. Overall, the alcohol brings out the red wine character to it. It goes dry very close to how the red wine does. Aftertaste is continuing with sourness and sweetness in the background. Nice experience.

Pretty sure this is batch 1, best by 05/06/2015, opened for my 30th bday! Ruby red, deep pigment; delicate lace and head. Pungent fruits in the nose: can clearly smell all 3 fruits (cherries, raspberries, cranberries). Kiss of sweetness in the nose balances against the inherent sourness from the fruit. Really nice. Intense, puckering sourness on the palate as freshly picked fruits bum-rush my taste buds. Highly concentrated flavor, brimming at the rim with deliciousness. Certainly too intense for some, but I simply cannot get enough. Will be aging my other bottle for at least a year to see how it develops.