Rodenbach

Brewed by Brouwerij Rodenbach (Palm)
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Roeselare, Belgium

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

250 ml bottle.
Pours a dark brown colour with a small natural white head on the edges. Aroma of sour fruits, butter and citrus. Flavour of pleasant sour fruits, raisins, raspberry and wood. Light bodied with a mild tart finish. Easy to drink but nothing special.

Pours a beautiful deep brownish red color with a massive fluffy beige head that impairs my ability to pour a full glass. Smells of cider and vinegar as soon as I pop the cork. Sweet fruity tartness fills my nostrils; cherries, vanilla, and hints of oak round out the nose. Luckily the vinegar is not as present as when I first opened her up. Taste is more fruity than tart. Slightly tart cherries strained over a sweet malty base. Bits of oak and acetic acid in there, really not what I was expecting. Lots of bubbles, medium to thin body, chalky sugary fruity mouthfeel. Decent easy to drink beer but a lot sweeter than I was expecting. Maybe I’ve totally wrecked my palette with American sour ales, but I thought this beer is a bit too subtle.

bottle at restobieres pours brown white head, nose is vanilla and cherries, some nail polish remover. taste repeats what is found on the nose with a nice rounded sourness followed by a nice malty finish. you can almost taste some grapes there. paired excellently with the rabbit prune stew.

33cl bottle at home. This is a very nice beer if the grand cru is not available. It’s much the same as the grand cru, lots of apples, cherries, wine and wood in the aroma and flavour. The beer is again a dark brown/red colour with a lively carbonation. This beer is excellent at cleansing the palate!

Bottle at the Rake. It pours dark reddish brown with a whisper of beige head. The nose is dark berry, sweet cherry, wood and vinous notes. The taste is cherry, blackberry, blackcurrant, vinegar and wood, well balanced with a little tartness. The finish is full of fruit and some vinegar. It has fairly low carbonation, a sticky mouth-feel and is medium-bodied. A classic.

I love this style. Great for the warm weather and this one isn’t to hard on the senses. The pour is reddish in tint with a small head. Sour in the aroma and flavor. The cherries are there along with the wood. Very refreshing.

UPDATED: SEP 15, 2011 Opaque milk chocolate color with a small, creamy, tan head. The aroma is sweet toffee, dark fruit, and funky yeast. The flavor is sweet and tart, with candi sugar, caramel, and a nice finish. As someone who isn’t into sours, I find this to be pretty enjoyable. Some are way overdone and I think that ruins them.

Other ratebeerians have been quite kind to this beer I think. Murky red with a very small head. Tart aroma with some toasted malt. Surprisingly sweet flavour with some gentle tartness and caramel on the finish. Very drinkable, but would be much improved by cranking up the sourness a notch or two.