2015 Vintage Oak Aged Ale (Barrel No. 195)
Brouwerij Rodenbach N.V.

 

Unblended, single barrel and unaltered, there's no more esteemed release than that of Rodenbach's Vintage Ale. The selection of barrel no. 195 carried the load in 2015 and we're seeing it shelved five years later.

Much like their Grand Cru, Vintage Ale 2015 pours a tawny rust-brown color with ruby low lights in its body. Showing a light haze and a buildup of fine mesh haze, the beer's red wine influences are evident. Also winey to the nose, a sour twinge of balsamic is laced with cider, dark fruit and cobbler. Its mild mannered sweetness resonates on the early palate with those cobbler, pastry crust and toasted grain in its malt profile.

Sweet and sour notes mingle on the middle palate along with a malty taste of light chocolate, sour grapes, toast and apples. Its acidity is charged with dark cherry, crab apples, under-ripened berries, lime, and strong balsamic vinegar savoriness. Oxidized sherry, leather, wine must, and light sea brine, offers up a sour taste that's backed with firm umami whimsy. Light on bitterness, the beer relies solely upon its acidity to create balance in taste.

The beer's medium-light body causes a "richer-than-actual" early mouthfeel because of its creamy carbonation and slight malt body. But after the initial taste, the beer relegates to a red wine character with a cleansing acidic tone that favors sour fruit, pleasant tannins, and mild mannered astringency. Spicy alcohols culminate in a dry vinegary body that's ultimately sultry and ooh so very clean.

Where barrel 144 exhibits the most exclussive taste of the Rodenbach vintage, the flavors of Vintage 2010 is slightly lesser than the Grand Cru, but the clean lactic character of this version cannot be denied. Lacotobacillis notes create a clean finish to this beer that makes it slightly better than other Vintage brands.

 

 

 

 

2020-03-21
750ml corked/caged bottle served in a WABL sample glass. Date on the bottle is 07/28/2017.

Pours ruby-amber with a respectable head that fades quickly to a ring, looks quite carbonated. Pretty, translucent beer. Smell is tart, oak, cherries, and plums.

Taste is a nice sweet-tart cherry with an oak background and a surprisingly nicely integrated bitter finish.

Mouthfeel is dry and crisp. Overall, lovely beer.

 

I had a taster of this on a flight at Billie's Bier Kafeteria in Antwerp in May 2018. It's really a sour, with some sweetness. Ii didn't realize it was 2015 vintage when I ordered it from the board. It was a Nitro.

Poured into a nonic. Dark reddish brown body with a bubbly tan head which disappears very fast
Winey. A bit sharp in the middle. Some balsamic notes. a long finish. Light body.
Overall smooth and balanced.

$ 8.37 (Including discount and tax)/750 mL cork and cage bottle ($ 0.703/oz) from State Line Liquors, Elkton, MD. Reviewed 10/20/19.
Marked on both the bottom of the bottle and on the back of the label “07/28/2017”. On shelf in store. Stored at 42 degrees and served at 42 degrees in a hand washed and dried Rodenbach tulip.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Pinkish-amber, clear.
Body – Amber, opaque. When held to the light, reddish-amber and clear with effervescence noted.
Head – Large - (Maximum five cm, aggressive center pour), tan, dense, short retention, rapidly diminishing leaving neither crown nor cap.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4.25 – Slightly sour cherries and some mixed fruit.
Flavor – 4.25 – Begins moderately sour with cherries and oak. Ends with oak tannins and a bit of mixed fruit and berries. Throughout there is a hint of sherry. No alcohol (7% ABV) flavor or aroma. No dimethylsulfide, no diacetyl.
Palate – 3 – Medium, watery, lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4.25. What can I say? I absolutely love Rodenbach brews and drink them whenever I can find them. While the appearance, aroma, and flavor are all above average for a Flanders Red Ale, their mouth feel is exactly as it should be, i.e. average.

On draft. Poured a dark, dark brown color with a small, khaki-colored head of foam. It smelled of dark cherry, lemon and sweet maltiness. Tart, sour black cherry taste with toffee and caramel.

a gorgeous single vessel flemish red here, to me a little more dynamic than the original, but also this is cellared to the peak of its maturity, i cant imagine it improving any from here. it has a deep caramel to brick red color, with shiny mahogany edges and a short tan head from the bottle, mellow, but still some life to this. it smells incredible, with a crazy fruitiness well beyond the tangy cherry thing i always seem to get in rodenbach beers. i get ripe strawberry, tart raspberry, and like cooked sweet raisin. i also get red wine vinegar, port, and sherry, some alcohol coming through with all of this, and some caramelized sugar as well, still quite overtly malty to me. the flavor is just as good as the nose, strong red wine notes with berries and even plums, not as acidic as it smells, and to me way less caustic and sour than some of the others they have done. i love all the fruit, and i like the lactic bacterial element in concert with it. some light funk here, a ton of wet oak, subtle vanilla and toffee sweetness, black pepper, char, and brown sugar to finish with the classic vinegar profile. overall an exceptional beer, an awesome example of the style, and one that shows how patient cellaring can be rewarded. a pleasure to share with new friends!

 

 

 

 

 

Harder to find this year's edition of one of my favorite series, so happy to find a bottle while traveling. This year had more of a cane sugar, caramel cherry presence, with the oak tart finish being more mellow. Had a touch more funk this year too, but still more sweet than anything. Highly drinkable and smooth with decent carbonation. This all being said the smell and taste flavors were muted compared to years past, almost more brown focused than red. Still worth your time

Poured from 750 mL bottle into cervoise.
A: Pours a dark red amber hue with 1 inch off white head that fairly quickly settles to a thin skim.
S: Oak tannins, sour red berries, vinegary pepper, musty yeast.
T: Oaky tannins with mild caramel malt hits first quickly followed by sweet sour red berries and cherries. Vinegary pepper (better here than in the aroma) and the musty yeast flows along in the background. The sweet and sour fruit notes linger beautifully into the finish.
M: Light body. Sour, sweet, and slightly peppery. Nice fruit and oaky tannin balance. Lingers and matures beautifully on the palate.
D: Nice complexity and a great sipper. I’m thinking it would go really well with Thanksgiving dinner.