Zoetzuur Flemish Reserve Ale

Brewed by De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Sour Ale
Lochristi, Belgium

Bomber purchased at the Bevmo in Sacramento, CA Arden Way. Funky, sour, musty aroma with some sweet apple cidery notes as well. Not overly sour, but sour enough to be a pleasant aroma for the style. Moderately hazy amber/copper color with a rather frothy khaki-colored head and decent lacing. Highly carbonated immediate sour apple acidity to start, which then turns a bit sweet--almost cloyingly so for the style. Kind of a sugary sweetness. Finishes pretty dry and pretty long with a nice woodiness from the barrel. Unfortunately, this sticky sweetness lingers along in the finish and creates a somewhat unpleasant dichotomy. Too sweet and underattenuated.

Pours a deep brown with a pinkish whispy head. Aroma is sour pie cherries with some vanilla. The body is mediuam with avg. CO2. The flavor is med-sour, very well balanced, with some characteristics of cherries, oak, and toffee. Simply delicious.

750 ml bottle poured ac clear reddish copper with a large lasting peach colorerd head. Aromas of sour fruitiness, some apple notes and yeast. Palate was light bodied and crisp. Flavors of sour apple, yeast and a hint of leather with a crisp lightly tart finish.

750 ml bottle, from BevMo. Pours a cloudy reddish brown color with a thick and creamy biege head that lasts well and leaves good lacing. Aroma is dominated by sour fruit, pie cherries, tart apple and some funky brett yeasty notes as well. Flavor is also primarrily sour and slightly funky upfront, with nice sweet cherry and candy sugar notes mixed in, a woody, tannic character is present as well, but seems a little unbalanced for my tastes. Medium body and generously, smooth carbonation. Quite nice overall.

Aroma of cherry and yeast (out of the wine fridge). Lots of beige head that lasts. Red cherry wood color. Tastes of sour, cherry, wood, yeast, earth. Hops dance lightly; very lightly. Definitely not sweet. The finish is lightly sour with fruit, and any bitterness is slight. A sipping drink. The cherry seems to enhance as the liquid warms.

An enjoyable beer but not up to expectations. Substantial billowing head production, not esp. dense, with a dark red/brown body. The cherry nose is great, with some yeast in the cold first nose and woodiness in the later warmer sniffs. In the mouth it is lightly acidic and moderately sour but with a stickiness, too. The palate is the kicker: fluffy carbonation but a sensation of being a little thin in the body. I liked it, and it went well with food, but it isn’t a great Flemish Sour.

Pours dark amber / brown with a pillowy beige / tan head. Aroma has dark cherry, wood, acidity and vinegar. The standout quality is cherry. Medium / light body with quite a bit of fizzy carbonation. Starts of with cherry, some vinegar adn traces of oak - it is a bit watery. Finish has carbonation take over then with the flavors come back it is mainly woody with some sourness - it is fairly light. Good flemish sour, but not great.

Usual Flemish ale color, fairly large head with great lacing. Aroma is some basement, sour cherries, some sugar, some other fruits. Flavor brings out some sour sweetness, but this is nowhere near as sour as something like Rodenbach Grand Cru. The basement or flat element I got here I did not enjoy. While it was something new for me in a sour, I don’t think it belongs. I was missing the usual oakey characteristics. I’d rather have my eyes water and my tongue melt off. I think this is the FIRST sour I’ve underrated.