Zoetzuur Flemish Reserve Ale

Brewed by De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Sour Ale
Lochristi, Belgium

Bottle courtesy of Bu11zeye: Poured a cloudy light brown/red color ale with a super huge foamy head with great retention and lacing. Aroma of oak with some tart note is pretty interesting with some great notes of Brett/funky yeast. Taste is dominated by great oak and tart notes with some sourness which is offset by the funky and barnyard like taste of the yeast. Lots of complexities can be found in this beer. Body was full with some limited filtration and some great carbonation. An interesting experience and something I would definitely like to try again.

Date: 4/29/2007
Event: River’s Bend Belgian Workshop / Abbey Dubbel Brewout
Location: Ken’s House
Serving: 750 ml corked and caged bottle.

Tasting Notes
Aroma: Lots of red wine vinegar.
Appearance: Cloudy amber color with a thin crown.
Flavor: Cherry and berry flavors with oak/wood and a hint of alcohol.
Palate: Medium body. Very smooth.
Overall: This Flemish Sour Ale really plays the sweet and sour paradox quite nicely. Not for the faint of heart!

Cherry fruit tart aroma, with subtle hints of sour bacteria, taste is very fruity and desert dry, light medium sourness,not much tartness , big time astringency iin finish,a fine Flemish,I however am partial to a slightly sweeter, more tart and sour style

Medium-sized off-white head, slowly diminishing. Creamy foam leaves behind thin, creamy lacing. Body is a slightly hazy red/orange/brown multi-tint, dense in appearance. Brettanomyces and sweet malt dominate the nose. This doesn’t have the drying acidity I associate with bright(or even aged), invigorating Flemish sours, but smells delicious nonetheless. Hints of mint seem to encapsulate barnyard notes. Light touches of cedar and cherry and light vinegar notes round out the aroma. The flavor is the antithesis of typicality for this style. Quenching, sour brett and drying yeast/hops are quickly muted by sweetness. Sweetness that seems out of place with its momentum in overtaking more subtle characteristics. Unique, at most. A gross sticky sweetness feels like yeast chunks entering the mouth, just awful. Finishes sweet, of moderate length and leaves a stale malty residue and a metallic note. Medium to medium-full bodied. Nearly a disastrous outing.

Courtesy SoLan. Pours a cloudy, hazy reddish brown. Almost zero head. Bubbles hug the edge of the glass. Smells of big fruity acidity, but nothing overpowering in the nose. Flavor actually is quite mild. Slightly sour, but not what I was expecting. Very small bite to it which was a little disappointing. Some lemon, and other citrus characters but not much else. A little lifeless.

Pours a pinkish red with 2 finger white head. Sweet nose of cherry, bubblegum, Band aid, and yeast. I’m not to fond of the aroma but its not enough to ruin the experience. Tannin flavor with some wild berries. Quite different from other Flemish sours I have sampled. Zoetzuur might teeter on the zoet side. I tend to like mine more sour. Maybe not quite as chewy as Duchesse either or as intense as Rodenbach Grand Cru. Still might be worth seeking out if you’re a fan of sweet and sours.

Hazy amber and 1.5cm of dense, light tan head. Sweet and sour berries, vinous, yeast. Flavor adds solid malt support, old wood (barrel aged?), more sourness. Finishes dry, yeasty, sour. Medium body, balanced carbonation. Very good.

Bottle. 2006 vintage. Pours a hazy red/brown with a quickly dissapating head. Interesting nose: sour cherry, some sweetness, earth, dirt, wild yeast. Same for the flavor profile... very unique. Starts mildly sweet, but ends quite sour and dirty/earth tasting. Finishes malty and sour.

Re-Rate. Bottle aged 2+ years. Loads of pineapple brett and vinegar on the nose. Bursting with acetic acid on the tongue. Really nice.