Struiselensis

Brewed by De Struise Brouwers
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Oostvleteren, Belgium

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

Synthetic Cork
Cloudy amber color, dull; medium sized head, creamy and persistent. Interesting aroma, a bit malty, sweet, flowery, with the Bretts. The flavor is an interesting crossover between a fresh Belgian Ale and a Lambic; the mouthfeel is smoother in the front and drier later, malinly when a citrusy flavor comes in (lemon), and the lemon dominates the final. Very good.

Blonde colour. Spicy, anisey nose with a nice tartness. Lots of tart apple. Really appley, with tart, slightly spicy flavour. Nice clean tartness in the finish.

11.2oz bottle. Poured cloudy gold in color with a fizzy white head that diminished quickly. Aroma of brett, slight citrus, and tart. Flavors of lemon and orange citrus, brett funkiness, and a bit more tart then I was expecting. Maybe the brett is kickin a little more in this bottle. The finish is nice, the body is nice, I just really loved this. I could drink a bottle of this every night.

This Belgian Ale pours a slightly hazy orange gold color from a 33cl bottle. Small to medium sized white foamy head. The aroma is fruity and sweet, orange with a hint of tartness. A medium bodied Belgian Ale. The malts are fruity and sweet, lots of orange and lemon flavors. The hops are earthy. An interesting beer, it has a lots of citrus fruit flavors yet has some serious tartness/sourness funk going on, yet all the flavors seem a little suspended. Its like the beer isn’t quite to its final stage yet, it is not incomplete or anything, but its like its about half ay down he final road. Lively carbonation. A light and refreshing beer. Mouthfeel is full, smooth and round. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is slightly tart.

A young bottle (I definitely want this after the Brett has fully developed). Sweet and very tart sour smell, the wild and untamed Flemish Browns of old with floral notes and nicely matched lemon. Hazy blonde pour with good firm carbonation and little head. Very fresh taste is very sour, mouth-puckeringly so, with dry champagne notes in its dying moments and an overall citric impression. No vinegar and no cherries. Medium body. Mellowing would surely do this good; currently a little too forceful with the carbonation, and not very bretty. Tartness is excellent, and I have high hopes for this sucker.

UPDATED: FEB 24, 2009 My Bottom Line:
A bountiful bouquet boasts coniferous cookies, wild grass, and fruity flower petals before sour benevolence seeks to cleanse the mind with its lemony and drying flavor surge. This is a most inviting Sour Ale.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A thin veil of foam dips into the hazy blond.
-The finish is a little yeasty, but otherwise this is quite clean throughout.
-The flavor profile does not feel as complex as the aroma; maybe time will make evolve?
-Flavors aren’t too intense in the brett world, but they certainly are joyous.
-Comfortable effervescence facilitates bigger sips.
-I could smell this for hours.
-An aged sample reveals a very different creature. Lots of citrusy sourness, none of the biscuity and coniferous allusions, and a mostly fruity and vinegary (white wine vinegar) flavor profile and finish. Still quite good, but just not as compelling as the fresher bottle was. From 3.9/5 to 3.5/5.

Bottles.

A belgian ale? More like a sour ale. Tons of super astringent bacteria cultures that make this beer taste like heavenly apple cider vinegar plum-skin juice. It has a bit too much carbonation though, but it is otherwise an absolutely beautiful, sweet sour beer.

Thin white head of varying sized bubbles. Decent carbonation. Nice tart aroma with lots of wet oak, ripe fruit, white grape and some light malts. Succulent aroma. Color is a pretty clear dark gold. Light and crisp flavor with more wet oak, grapes and grassy flavor. Almost like a sparkling white wine in flavor. Thin body with just enough sourness and tartness to make you mouth salivate constantly. Finishes tart and dry. A pretty good sour ale. Not over the top but just about right. Good stuff!