Rodenbach Grand Cru
Brouwerij Rodenbach N.V.

The brew is brown with deep ruby tones, has a light tan head that leaves good lacing and curtains.

The smell is earthy and sour, red vinegar, leather, musk, and yeast.

Starts sweet, raisins, lemon curl marmalade, rhubarbs, bitter cherries, grape-fruit zest.

Low carbonation, small bubbles, smooth texture, a sour dryness.

Solid, refreshing, interesting, and good with cheese.

Red wine vinegar - not very sour.

 

Really good sour beer that I finally got to try. The appearance isn’t so pretty, just a murky hazelnut brown color with no head. But tastes great, like sour cherries and yeasty funk, grape, a hint of oak barrel. Enjoyably sour but not overly so. Overall pretty good.

Dark brown and murky in complexion. No discernable head. The aroma is of horse blanket, barnyard funk, and tart cherries. I'm tasting tart cherries and the mouthfeel is very smooth from the oak. The mouth is also dry and crisp.

 

 

 

Translucent deep brownish-red, with light, quickly-dissipating tan head.

Smell? Think red wine vinegar, softened by (dried, then moistened) cherry, oak and a touch of vanilla. I say "vinegar", but it's softer, more rounded than that, and not as strong. A partner of the other elements, not dominating them.

Taste is is dried cherry, a touch of raisin, the aforementioned red wine vinegar, some oak tannin, and a hint of booze-soaked vanilla.

Feel is smooth/slick - it looks at "lightly syrupy", but doesn't actually go there - , light-medium, with light, very,very,very fine carbonation tingle. Some acetic mucilaginous feel at the back of the palate, eventually with a slight drying effect in the front.

Overall, just wonderful. I've had this before, but not in a long, long time. I need to not wait so long for the next time. It lives up to billing, and deserves its high ranking. :)

 

 

Poured from the 11.2 oz bottle into the test glass.
A - A ruddy, brown color, very little cap, very fine carbonation accumulates as a ring along the glass walls
S - Dark cherries, vanilla tannin, oak, some sweet malts, aged balsamic, and green apple skins.
T - Dark stone fruit, some ever so slight vanilla, a bit of late harvest grape, as the offering warms, the earthy elements pop. Grainy malts, with earthy musty threads. This is very complex
M - Medium body, semi sweet, then a shift towars slightly sour. Texture is luxurious, slick with a slightly tart linger.
Very cordial like with the gentle carbonation.
O - A bit of a revelation in 11.2 oz's. Outstanding texture, Softened by oak, the acididty doesn't run wild. The tannin touch is deft. Overall exceptional

 

 

More brown than red, slightly hazy, one finger of khaki head. The smell and taste are extremely complex, dominated by fruit, red wine tannins, and vinegar, but in a good way. The flavour of this stuff sure packs a wallop. It finishes with the dominant sourness only slightly mellowed out by sweetness. Overall, a wonderfully complex beer.

 

 

Excellent brownish-red body with lots of lively carbonation; thick, spongy head. A beautiful aroma of cherry and raspberry; earthy mustiness. The taste flows along with the smell; rich, fruity tartness; raw oak; moderate sourness. Heavy body; velvety residual sugar note; moderate tartness; fairly sweet overall.

This is a fantastically rich and inviting Flanders red ale. It brings all the hallmarks of the beer style to the front. I don't find it overly sour nor over-carbonated and fizzy like some I've experienced. This one is heavy with complexity and nuance.

Poured at 45 F; bottling date (I guessing): September 08th, 2020 (label had JD 0.252 13 17:47)

Visual: scarce coarse ocher colored foam, dark brown beer with amber reflections, veiled.
Nose: high intensity with fruity, acidulous, grape, light caramel and malt descriptors.
Taste: very intense with acidic, sour descriptors and sweet finish. Ripe grapes and ripe cherries, caramel. Acidic aftertaste of grapes always fighting with a very elegant fined sweetness. Mouth sensation of astringency and pungent carbonation with medium and soft.

330 ml bottle poured into a tulip glass. There is clear bottling information, but I'm nowhere near smart enough to decipher the code.

L---Opaque brown in my glass, but it was clear with a strong reddish tint while pouring it through light. Fluffy khaki head faded quickly and left ok lacing.

S---You can smell the sourness. Strong fruitiness. Tart cherries.

T---Wow, this is really good. Sour cherries, light red wine vinegar.

F---Much fuller bodied than expected from a relatively light 6.0% ABV.

O---This earns its world class status. So glad I bought two.

 

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Poured into a pint glass. A hazy reddish brown with a thin tan head that soon diminished to a ring which stuck around to the end.

Fairly strong clean, sweet and tart fruit smells.

Taste is vinous. Malty and mildly sour up front. A very long sweetish aftertaste. Some oak and leather present. Well melded.

Very smooth for a Flemish Red. Medium to light body and carbonation.

Overall a world class Flemish red. Well balanced and refreshing. Mildly sour, fruity and funky.

 

Rodenbach Grand Cru is clear and a deep red color, with leathery highlights. Head is dense, packed, cream colored, and lasting.
On the nose, Rodenbach is tart and fruity up front, smelling pleasantly of sour, ripe cherries. I can practically picture the juiciness of those cherries as they fall from the tree straight into my beer. Oak and vanilla lend support while softening the beer’s overall sourness. This may be my imagination but I could swear I find hints of leather hiding behind the aromas of oak. Unbaked bread lends itself to the flavors, helping the oak in its bid to soften those flavors of ripe fruit tartness.
On the tongue, Rodenbach is smooth and medium bodied. CO2 provides a spritzy carbonation that dances across the tongue. Soft flavors of unbaked bread give a platform for up front tartness which combines deftly with flavors of ripe fruit. Flavors give me ripe cherry as well as red grape minus the tannins. The finish has a lot going on each in its own subtle fashion. Chiefly there’s an earthy quality. Earthiness blends nicely with fruit as well as leather tinted flavors of oak. All of which combines to provide a very gentle flavor profile.
Like previous Flanders Reds, this one has some great character and great balance. Tartness and flavors of ripe fruit dominate without overpowering. Oak aging and a general bready quality help prevent this beer from being too strong in its tartness. Rather, it’s a delicious, refreshing, and greatly accessible example of the style.

 

 

 

I'll keep this brief - wonderful classic beer. It's one of those beers that I've seen on the shelf for years without trying. Now I wonder what took so long.

Over the last several months, the Flanders Red style has emerged as on of my favorites. So much flavor to be had here!