Flemish Red Ale Grand Cru | Brouwerij Strubbe

4.05/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from 750 mL bottle into tulip.
A: Pours a dark brown with hint of red at the edges with backlighting. Low carbonation produces 1/4 inch tan head that quickly recedes.
S: Mild sour-sweet note, red fruit (especially berries), tart cherries, sweet caramel malt.
T: More sweet than sour...due to the 2 year barrel aging...and it serves this beer very well. Blackberries, sweet cherries, pear, caramel malt, soft honey, and a hint of wood and cider. Delightful!
M: Velvety smooth, softly sweet, enveloping fruit notes. Lingers and matures on the palate superbly.
D: A wonderfully reserved sour. Waves of varying fruits (again, reserved, not over the top). I'm starting to really appreciate blended beers like this one (50% young beer blended with 50% beer aged in Bordeaux wine barrels). The aging softens this brew and adds a nuanced extra layer of complexity. This is one you'll want to take your time to enjoy even though the ABV is a very agreeable 6.5%.

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4.33/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

APP- A lovely crystal-clear deep ruby. Off wite head is moderate but leaves thick sticky sheets of lace.

AROMA- chocolate, dried cranberry, black pepper, truffle, honey and fruit, faint note of cinnamon- possibly from barrel.

FLAVOR- Extremely red-wine like. Reminds me of a jammy malbec and or/ very spicy cab at he same time. Toasty and tannic sensation comes on first, with deep dark dried fruit and red wine vinous flavors drenching the palte before a kiss of vinegar clenches the finish. Rasberry tone. Hint of new leather. Some vanilla in the aftertaste.

MF- Medium bodied and creamy with moderate carbonation. A little astringent in the finish, but really nice.

OVERALL- The oak really pops out in this beer. It is not the most complex example of the style I've had but the tannin should make it fun to age a few bottles. Very fun beer to drink and a great sub for red wine.

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4.5/5  rDev +18.4%

3.92/5  rDev +3.2%

On draft, @ morgan's, in sac, Ca...
Pours a dark brown color with hints of some hints of copper and mahogany. Ltos of head, which goes down quick, the smell is of red wine, cranberries, lots of fruit. Taste is purple grape, not too sour, less acidity than a sour, and the sweetness is mellow.. Carboation a yeast taste like champagne. Serve with black-berry pie, cream-cheese dishes, stuffed calzones/pizza.

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4/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

33 cl bottle pours a mostly clear, rusty brown body with a small and fleeting beige head. Specks of lacing left on the snifter. Aroma of earthy wood, cranberries, cherry skins, and caramel. Light medium body has a subtle, but effective, carbonation. Taste is mostly sour, with cranberries and cherry skins. Some apple cider vinegar notes, as well. Earthy and woody notes pervade from start to finish. A hint of caramel keeps the sourness in check. Very well executed and pleasantly drinkable.

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3.52/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I think a lot of folks would like this brew, nice entry into the style. Problem is, for folks familiar with the style, there's not much tartness to be had, the cherries are barely present, and it's noticeably malty. Like I say, enjoyable brew but not quite to style. Cheers!

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3.92/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Reddish-light brown color with yellow-brown hues that has a slightly hazy appearance. Light tan head with moderate- retention. Moderate lacing in the glass.

Citrus, cheese rind, red wine vinegar, saddle leather, over-ripe peach, chocolate malt and charcoal.

Nice tart palate, with brown bread, red grapefruit, dog hair, warm saddle leather, ginger snaps and caramel hard candies.

Medium bodied with a nice balance in the carbonation. The sourness is nicely on display but is moderated in the beer to make it approachable as a sour.

Funky, but not out of control. Nice balance makes for an interesting and enjoyable beer.

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3.86/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

4.49/5  rDev +18.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured a nice, dark, deep reddish brown with red tinting at the edges of the glass and a thin off-white head. Quite nice, very appealing and pleasant to look at. Scents of Balsamic vinegar, sour cherries, overripe fruit, sour funk and faint caramel malt. A good sour aroma, quite appealing. Flavor begins with sour and funky notes alongside sweet, moscato-like white grape, moving into some indeterminate fruity flavors, sour apple, caramel and earthy mustiness. The finish is tart, with some sweetness. An excellent flavor profile that blends sour and sweet into a lovely whole. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with moderate carbonation and a slightly sticky, semi-drying feel. Quite nice. Overall this was a great Flanders Red that has an excellent aroma, flavor and mouthfeel. Highly recommended.

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3.25/5  rDev -14.5%

3.5/5  rDev -7.9%

3.59/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

6.5% ABV from old fashioned looking bottle. Served cellar temp.

Huge head fizzles away quickly. Chestnut brown color. Aroma is very funky, fruity, sour, and a tad bit medicinal. Taste is very bright, a little abrasive and certainly adventurous. Berry is in the forefront. Mouthfeel is very smooth and carbed great. Hops are way in the background.

Overall this is a a little rough around the edges although certainly above average.

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3.42/5  rDev -10%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75

Pourd from a 11.2 oz bottle to a chimay challice

First off this is my verry first sour and I love sour stuff so I been looking for the sour style for a wile

A: pours a dark brown readish color almost looks like mister pibb soda verry minn head that kinda lingers and lilttle laceing that sticks around nice apperance

S:smells fruity and acidic.I smell cherries the most with a little vinager smell

T:wow!!! This is my first sour and damn is it sour and some people say it is not that sour. I taste sweet wine,vinager,cherries, and the more I drink the more it mellows out
And I start tasting an oaky flavor frm the ageing

M:verry dry like a cab wine

Overall: well for being my first sour I am surprized about how sour it is and I thought I would of liked it more but its overly sweet the more I drink the better it gets far frm a bad beer but I think I need to get more acquainted with the sour type of beers

Live life drink beer!!!:-)

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3.77/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

4/5  rDev +5.3%

3.39/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

is from the Biergarten in Jrnks, BBD date of Apr 2014

Pours chestnut with a sliver of cream colored head. Minimal head retention & even less lacing

S: Slight leather, cherry & raspberry

T: Cherry, raspberry ^ slight tartness up front. Raspberry & fairly sweet cherry along with jammy apricots & some oakyness as this warms. Finishes tarty, oaky with much cherry

MF: Light/medium bodied, slight carbonation

Tartness starts out slow & buikds, still a touch sweeter than I like my Flanders Red, This needs some age I think, but would be a great entre to the style

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2.96/5  rDev -22.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

330ml into tulip.

The pour looked promising, a reddish brew with a brown cast. Light brown head that held. But the aroma had a muted sour with a sweet component. The taste followed the aroma. Some sour, but not much. Some cherry, but not much. This gave way to a malty sweet on the finish. Yeast present, but subtle.

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3.51/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

3.25/5  rDev -14.5%

3.66/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a deep reddish brown with a light brown/off white head. Nose is vinegar, cherry, grape, caramel, apple cider and a sharp citrus hidden way in the back. The taste is much less vinegary (thankfully). Cherry, sour apples, grapes, berries, slight vinegar in the background and a little lemon. The body is light and the carbonation is a little lower than I thought it'd be. The sour level on this is way lower than expected. Just a slight tartness. Not the best flemish red/sour etc but pretty good nonetheless. It says best before 2017, so maybe the vinegar would mellow out and it'd move a lot up the ladder.

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4.5/5  rDev +18.4%

3.93/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a stemmed wide goblet a light cola color, a nice almost eggshell finger of head very slowly dissipates.

Nose is very delicate berry vinegar, light banana.

Nice prickly carbonation up front, a balanced sweet malt and tart berry middle. Finish is dry and lightly puckering - I'd say overall it's a very refreshing balance and this is one of the more easy drinking Flemish reds I've had. It does well after some warmth allowing the bugs to bite a little more - would be interesting to try one with some cellar time. Not the best, but a very good intro.

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4.47/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Purchased same date as review. (Best before 02/08/2015 date)

Pours copper red with a pink/tan head.

Nose is initially a red wine vinegar sour acidic that quickly goes to esters of fresh green unripe pear and then to green grapes.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and just what you would anticipate (and want) from the nose. Mouthfeel is nicely balanced with medium acid brightness and light carbonation.

Flavor profile is bitter grape acidic celery and green spice and pepper. Very appealing, leaves you wanting more and very food friendly .

Just the right amount of initial sour character and a nice celery, salty acidic finish.

Very drinkable and very nice. This is a beer that the inexperienced and experienced will both like. Good with lots of food profiles.

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3.28/5  rDev -13.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Best by 29-11-2015
11.2 oz bottle
6.5% alc by vol

Pours a clear copperish red with no floaties. Inch of tan head that fades slowly stays clinging to the sides of the glass and a thin layer remains on top.

Smells of sour fruits with hints of carmalness hidden. Almost a fruity bread smell.

Tastes starts fruity tart and sour but quickly moves to malty bready tart Carmel. You predict a fierce aftertast but it cleans up much nicer than you would expect.

Overall a decent beer. Seems almost like a cross between a lager and a red. It is not a simple beer. But also not as Flanders red as I expected. The sour fruity tartness is overshadowed and secondary to the rest of what's going on.

Worth a try for sure and perhaps a good cross into reds. It does blend better as the temperature increases. Perhaps I began at too low a temp. Worth trying not my favorite.

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4.78/5  rDev +25.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Pours out a reddish brown with a thick off-white head. This has one of the strongest noses of any Flemish sour I've ever had. Loads of berries, vanilla, caramel malts. A whiff of vinegar. Flavor is very sour with an excellent dryness in the finish. Vinegar isn't overwhelming as in some other Flemish sours. Very fruity with a mild toastiness from the malts. Mouthfeel is light and effervescent. This is easily one of the greatest of the style that I've had.

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