Cuvée Oncle Pol
Brouwerij De Leite

 

Poured from 750 mL bottle into tulip.
A: Pours a dark ruby red with a little light coming through at the edges with backlighting. Nice 1-2 inch frothy/bubbly tan head with good retention.
S: Fresh red berries with tart dark cherries. A definite note of balsamic vinegar with some oak and more subtle caramel malt in the background.
T: Dark tart cherries with sweet red berries hit first. In the mid-palate the notes of balsamic vinegar and soft oak emerge. Some raisin and spicy grain around the edges.
M: Medium body. Equally sweet and tart. Moderately dry throughout. Real nice oat softness. Velvety feel. Lingers nicely on the palate.
D: An excellent example of style. Such a wonderfully blended brew. Layered and fresh and so sessionable. Seek it out!

neat blend here, really well made, distinct from other examples of the style, kind of a flanders red and oud bruin together, less of the vinegar property to the sourness, despite still being quite acidic, i thought this was really nice, worthy of a big year end celebration and another obscure winner from the rare beer club, love when they send belgian stuff! i had never even heard of this operation before this showed up. a nice deep amber color here, dark maple to chestnut tones, leaning brown in dimmer light, frothy tan head rising and receding, not too much sediment in the bottom of the large bottle, very lively, not real viscous, looks great. the nose is vinous to me right away, some old tannic oak here, sour cherry, ruby port wine, fig, and a good pop of lactic sourness, less wild or even lambic type funk than anticipated, but not entirely absent either, and to me rather distinctive on the ferment, even if its subtle. the flavor is similar, tons of cool layers from the malts all weaving together, raisin and dried cherry, toasted almond and dry cocoa on the darkest end, and sweet red berry and cola as well. lots going on, some lemony character to the acidity, sharp but not enough to prevent the whole bottle from being palatable as a solo endeavor. it warms up well, a little more horsey rustic yeast character coming out and some of the sweeter pale malts, but this remains sort of regal and full, spritzing with carbonation, packed with nuance, and really very well refined. i love drinking new stuff from this part of the world, i dont miss the typical vinegar side of the sourness in this take on the style, and overall this was a real treat! hope to get my hands on some more of their stuff in the future!

A Rare Beer Club selection. Pours a medium brown color with a foamy head that lasts quite a while. Aroma is sour and fruity. Taste is sweet, tart and slightly sour; very wine like. Smooth and dry.

 

 

 

Bready and light acetic sourness.