Zoetzuur Flemish Ale
De Proefbrouwerij (bvba Andelot)

Zoetzuur Flemish AleZoetzuur Flemish Ale
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From:
De Proefbrouwerij (bvba Andelot)
 
Belgium
Style:
Flanders Red Ale
ABV:
7%
Score:
87
Avg:
3.9 | pDev: 13.33%
Reviews:
197
Ratings:
354
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jan 29, 2022
Added:
Nov 15, 2004
Wants:
  30
Gots:
  27
No description / notes.
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Ratings by Huhzubendah:
Photo of Huhzubendah
Reviewed by Huhzubendah from District of Columbia

3.61/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Split a 750ml with my wife.

A: Beautiful ruby color with a whipped meringue head that lingers for several minutes, leaving big lacing. Awesome appearance!

S: Sweet cherries and wild yeast, definitely in that order

T: SWEET! sour. This is beer is much sweeter than it is sour. I was really expecting and hoping for a better balance between the two. Sweet cherries and cherry juice dominate the flavors, so much so that I feel I may be missing out on other complexities in this beer. There is only a hint of sourness, along with a yeasty, bread-like quality. The flavor is tasty and done well, but heavily favoring sweet cherry.

M: Sweet and smooth. Average feel.

D: I couldn't even finish my glass. The sweetness becomes very cloying, and quickly.
Mar 15, 2010
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3 by TMoney2591 from Illinois

Jan 29, 2022
 
Rated: 4 by teamwiggum from Wisconsin

Nov 28, 2021
Photo of rodbeermunch
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada

3.24/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
This was a bottle that kicked it in the cellar for like 5 years and then was broke out in the Fall of 2018.

Pour is a reddish light brown color. Thin, sparsely bubbled head, 1/5", beige in color. Aroma was somewhere in between a brown ale and flanders, lightly sweeter in the nose than your average flanders.

Taste is like one of those old world flanders, half older, half fresher beer. Mouth feel is sagged by a lower volume of carbonation. Leaning sweeter instead of sour. Has a brett like chewiness. Dark fruit cherry aspect without the bitterness of other dark fruits. Light vinegar note. Light red apple note.

I dunno, this doesn't really impress me, and when you're talking about a $10 price tag, even that seems a little much for what you get quality wise, especially when a few bucks more gets you some world class Oude Tart. This has a watered down with brown malt kind of vibe on the flanders aspect, like they tried to keep it from tasting too sharp and carbonated here.
Dec 14, 2020
 
Rated: 2.1 by Dactrius from Netherlands Antilles

Apr 26, 2020
 
Rated: 3.9 by Manta200 from Kentucky

Dec 24, 2019
 
Rated: 3.75 by paulish from New York

Jul 18, 2019
 
Rated: 3.75 by archero from Texas

Feb 02, 2019
 
Rated: 3.93 by Budlum from Maryland

Mar 20, 2017
Photo of Ozzylizard
Reviewed by Ozzylizard from Pennsylvania

4.68/5  rDev +20%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
$ 10.81 (Including tax)/750 mL ($ 0426/oz.) at Central Market, Alamo Heights, TX
Undated cork and cage bottle at 42 degrees into a hand washed and dried JK snifter. Opens with a soft “pffft”.
Aroma – faint odor of cherries and a little Brettanomyces “funk”, overall very enticing.
Head – large (Maximum 4.5 cm, aggressive pour), light tan, frothy, diminishing to an irregular six to ten mm ring with lacing and a thick heaped island with rocks. Second pour yields a much dense head.
Lacing – excellent. Wide rings of tiny to small bubbles connected to the remaining pour lace by thin columns of tiny bubbles.
Body – a quite attractive red amber with some slight chill haze,
Flavor – begins with a slightly sweet cherry flavor which has a slightly bitter tail. It ends slightly dry, as advertised. Malt flavor is absent. Hops, alcohol, and diacetyl are all absent from both the aroma and taste. Overall, fruity and nuanced.
Palate – medium, watery, lively carbonation

This is a very good Flanders red and should be renamed “Michael Jackson’s Zoetzuur” since he helped develop it. I’ll buy all this I can find.

Appearance 4.5, Aroma 4.5, Flavor 5, Palate 4.5, Overall 4.5
Jan 18, 2017
Photo of superspak
Reviewed by superspak from North Carolina

4.23/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
750 ml bottle into tulip glass, no bottle dating. Pours lightly hazy reddish orange/copper color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky light khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Dense soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a good amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big tart cherry, cranberry, strawberry, raspberry, lemon, lime, pear, apple, plum, red grape, fruit skin, hay, straw, grass, oak, caramel, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, light pepper/leathery funk, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great complexity and balance of fruity/earthy/funky yeast, cherry juice, and moderate dark/bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big tart cherry, cranberry, strawberry, raspberry, lemon, lime, pear, apple, plum, red grape, fruit skin, hay, straw, grass, oak, caramel, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, light pepper/leathery funk, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Light fruity/acidic tartness and yeast/tannic oak spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of cherry, berry, lemon, lime, pear, apple, plum, red grape, fruit skin, hay, straw, grass, oak, caramel, brown sugar, toasted biscuit, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/earthy/funky yeast, cherry juice, and moderate dark/bready malt flavors; with a great malt/tart/spiciness balance, and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Light dryness from tart/tannic notes, lightly increasing through the glass. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready, fairly acidic/tannic, and slightly slick balanced mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 7%. Overall this is an outstanding fruited Flanders red ale! All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/earthy/funky yeast, cherry juice, and moderate dark/bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the balanced acidic/tannic flavors. Very complex on the Brett flavors, with lighter underlying lacto presence. A highly enjoyable offering.
Dec 11, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by shelby415 from Oregon

Nov 12, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by jjwisenheimer from Indiana

Nov 02, 2016
 
Rated: 2.96 by MickeyHops from California

Oct 23, 2016
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.73/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Dark brown / ruby in color, with small beige foamy head and lots of soapy lacing. Cidery aroma, sharp acetic taste, but smooth enough to enjoy . lingering sweetness and a bit of tartness.
Aug 30, 2016
 
Rated: 3.98 by Jame515 from Texas

Jul 31, 2016
 
Rated: 3.6 by Hellpop65 from Kansas

Jul 10, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by bigred89 from Maryland

May 28, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by JMS1512 from New Jersey

May 05, 2016
Photo of Beginner2
Reviewed by Beginner2 from Illinois

3.8/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
"Sweet and sour" is what Zoetzuur means in Flemish. Accurate .
MJ reviews this one beer at length, giving a great explanation of the uniqueness of Belgian yeasts and, by implication, the Flemish character.
Starting on page 197 of His "Great Beers of Belgium", I recommend this passage for anyone who is a fan of the style. And if you are not a fan (like I am not), it may just open your mind... as it may have for me.
Mar 21, 2016
Zoetzuur Flemish Ale from De Proefbrouwerij (bvba Andelot)
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 354 ratings