Rodenbach Vin de Céréale

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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Bottled Coppery orange, totally clear body. The head instantly fizzes away. Reminds me of an old lambic or a little bit of Oudbeitje (when it comes to the appearance). Very complex aroma of wine, liquor, malts, calvados, wood, fruits, (peach, strawberry) and some hints of alcohol. This has a great aroma, I could sniff this for hours! Heavily sour, lightly sweet initial flavour. Harshly sour, moderately sweet finish. An overwhelming complex flavour that grows stronger to the end. In the flavour one can distinguish fruit and sourness (bit acidic however). No alcoholic flavour whatsoever, but still heavily bodied without any carbonation. Woow, this is just great, I have to buy more of these (if they are not too pricey). The name is perfectly choosen, it’s very winey.

Erasmus, Brugge. Brilliant honey-gold-pinkish stillness without any suggestion of a head, lacework or carbonation. The palate is somewhere between Rose and a sweet German white wine, the delicate tartness bears Rodenbach’s thumbprint. Dusty hayloft, sour apple and strawberry shortcake aroma. Mellow, vinous acidity, apple bubblegum, strawberry fruit, and a lingeringly, initially shockingly sickly aftertaste of popcorn and vanilla. Massive malty length and breakfast cereally afters. Could vividly taste this beer an hour after drinking it. White Merlot over cornflakes. As unabashedly cornflakey as a Lebanese pilsner. A ridiculous balancing act of incongruous flavours. Vile, shocking, tangy and addictive. Totally uncharted territory. Alcohol taking a very distant backseat. No more acidic than standard Rodenbach. Pasteurised and sweetened? Outrageous, and so unconventionally beery I wasn’t 100% sure it would be valid for inclusion on Ratebeer. At 8.50 Euros a bottle, would I drink it again? If someone else is buying, absolutely YES.

red pink coloured body with no head a fruity aroma a fruity sour taste and a strong sour fruity finich

Bottle from Den Spytigen Duvel, light amber pink coloured beer with some little, very fine carbonation and no head. Strong oaky and woody fruity aroma. Very special. Flat body. Finish is strong, light sour with a light alcoholic and fruity touch. Very special and nice.

Available at local Bruges’ beer pub ’t Brugs Beertje , and this for a stunning € 7.50 ! This is a strong version of the normal foederbier from Rodenbach ! The normal foederbier can be tasted from handpump at De Zalm in Roesalere, ’t Vosken in Ghent (yes!), and Vijgeblad in Beringen. And there’s probably more addresses. Let’s hope. Matured for 3 years on foeder nr. 132. There are only 20.000 bottles. 10.000 for Belgium on 37,5cl., and the other 10.000 for export. It is 10 vol% strong !!!! Poured out, we notice a crystal clear, amber colored beer. Practically without any carbonation. Yes, this beer is very flat, equal to some fine wine. Again some proof that "Oud Bruin" is amber colored from origin. Caramel coloring into brown, and blending new beer with foederbier, gives the normal Rodenbach. An old ancient traditional technique. The 37.5 cl. bottles are corked. Corks with a nice stamp on them. Again, wine alike. Some small carbonation is noticed. We notice some subtile CO2 bubbles hanging on the glass side. But that’s all really. Gently twisting the glass will remove the bubbles and some flat beer - without any foam - will be the result. Attention, this doesn’t mean that the beer has some inferior qualities. On the contrary, this beer is magnificent !!!! The typical Rodenbach barrel (=foeder) taste is noticed in the nose and mouth. 294 of those hand-made "foeders" are present. Some of them are more than 150 years old !! The "Vin de Céréale" has been matured for three years inside "foeder" n° 132. Really amazing ! Flowery too (esters). Mellow lacto-acid, leaning towards sweet. Quite similar to Rodenbach Grand Cru, which is slightly sweetened. No question here: we face a filtered beer (pasteurized?), which is slightly sweetened into acceptable sour tolerances for many beer lovers. Gives a crystal clear fluid. Beautiful for the eyes, no doubt. All bottles are wrapped inside white paper. Every wrap (bottle) has its own number. The one I tasted carried the number 010339. Quite expensive luxury beer for end-of-year festivity periods. BUT !!!! Why this sweetening, why this filtering, why this € 7.50 ? How did they achieve the 10 vol% ?????????

Bottled@Kulminator. (2004 vintage). Golden colour, small white head. Lots of carbonation bubbles on the glass. Strong sour apples and citrusfruits along with some nutty hints. Flavour is extremely dry almondy and appleish along with some oak barrely notes. Some vanilla becomes present when it warms up a bit, as does some vinegar. Hides the alcohol totally.

Bottle at De Dulle Griet, Gent. Pours deep orange amber, slightly hazy, with as good as no head at all. Wonderful sour-sweet aroma, nuts turning into marcipan, sour fruit yoghurt. Taste is very sour with yoghurt and fruit notes. Sharp acidic finish with a touch of wood. Some mildening marcipane taste as well. Rodenbach has turned out an impressive beer.

(Bottled, 2004 vintage, 0.375l) Deep golden with a small, lightly lacy head. Quite sour and vinous aroma with lots of maltiness. Tart and vinous, pale-malty flavor with some lemony fruitiness and hints of oak barrel and almond. Medium-bodied with low carbonation. Finally a fuller-bodied Rodenbach! Not bad at all, and hides the 10% completely.

UPDATED: AUG 29, 2008 Wow this is what you call a perfect good beer. No head at all very clear and in a clear bottle with nothing on it. The bottle is packed into paper with every information on it. Sour but not too sour. And be carefull it is 10% alcohol. A perfect beer

Totally free of head; cognac-orange colour; the REAL Rodenbach colour. Quite sharp, even acetic, but with a superb vinous aroma, with wineacids (malonic, tartaric,...) At the same time tart, sharp, mild, vinous, alcoholic (when only a little), slight aftertaste as from a Sauternes. Ultra-dry MF, acidburn in the end, a bit oily. Nice - OK : superb - but I would have liked just a bit more explanation apart from what is printed on the hardly readable wrapper.