Rodenbach

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

0,25 cl bottle from Vinmonopolet. Pours a good-looking deep red body with a medium-lasting off-white top. Smell is vinegar, cherries and grassy hops. Taste is vinegar, vinegar and more vinegar, with only a few hints of dark malts, cherries and hops. Rodenbach is far more one-dimensional than I had imagined, and frankly I don’t see the attraction in drinking what tastes like alcohol-fueled balsamic. Have no choice but to rate low here, despite the evident hype. I sincerely hope that a better specimen of the genre will fall into my lap in the near future (maybe during my trip to Belgium this summer..? :-)

UPDATED: JUN 30, 2010 Pours dark brown with a small, semi-foamy brown head. Nose- to me anyway- is virtually all red vinegar. I am not a vinegar fan. Flavor is also all red vinegar to me, with only a slight hop/malt ale character. Contrary to some of the other ratings given below me, there is nothing "light" or "slight" about the vinegar quality of this beer. I give this beer a "10" overall to keep from posting a truly horrid rating (it seems that this is a well-liked beer) but it’s absolutely not for me.

(750ml bottle via trade with BA Solomon420) clear brown-orange with light tan creamy head and excellent lacing. Nose of almond, sugar, light vinaigrette, cream, funk and cedar wood. Taste of wet wood, sweet, light tart, fnk, cream, some red cherries, pipe tobacco. Smooth body that is creamy and light.

Bottle. cherry vinegar aroma. Brownish Amber body with medium lasting head. Flavor is sour with hints of oak, slight vinegar... the sour lingers in your throat... nice sour

Thanks to thirdeye11 for sharing this bottle. The beer pours a hazy brown-red color with a white head. The aroma is vinegar with some sweetness and some oaked notes. The flavor is a great mix of sweet and sour with some oak and vanilla notes. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. A very nice Flanders Red.

bottle...Deep garnet pour , big white head that leaves quickly , no lace . Aroma of sour and tart fruits . Flavor is sweet then sour / tart cherry . Light roasted malt notes and a hint of wood as well . Light bodied , finish is drying and tart . Very refreshing and easy drinking .

Bottle, Rehills, Ncl. Deep red, rich, biscuity beer, with an aroma of apple and pear. Has the wine-like taste the bottle describes, but the sweet and sour taste lingers in the background and provides a great mix of flavours. I had to check to see if it was a cherry beer, as it is certainly prominent enough on the tongue. The finish is long, lingering and very enjoyable, an intriguing and unusual beer and one I’ve considered many times - pleased I fianlly took the plunge.

Bottle 25cl. Brown ale with no carbonation and almost no head. Smell is awful on burn paper. Taste is quite sour with typical cherry and oak notes, finish is nice and long, difficult to describe like French fries. Not bad even if its dry and sour.