Lo And Behold
Suarez Family Brewery

Bottled May, 2020

This is a nice looking beer, with the amber / copper color really looking nice held up to the light Nice half inch tan colored head. Aroma has cherry and plenty of tart notes. Taste has more character than the nose, with oak, leather and just the right amount of acidity working well with cherry-ish flavors.

Tasty beer.

Bottled 7/2022 (careful, it’s a gusher) . 500ml bottle served in a tulip. Pours a beautiful garnet hue with a frothy/sudsy head with a pinkish hue. Clarity is slightly hazy. Nose expresses notes of cherries, tannins and leather with also q whiff of ethanol at the finish. Taste consistent with nose; however, there is also a distinct medicinal quality that presents at the finish (flavor profile is almost reminiscent of Sucrets, but more herbal). Mouthfeel is light in body with low carbonation and a mild, even acidity. Overall, a very nice Flanders red. Much less acidic that many I’ve had, and this is welcome.

500 ml bottle, date 07.2022

Pours a murky reddish brown color, thick layer of off white colored head. Good head retention. Aroma of tart cherry, some oak, a little caramelly malt. Taste is moderately sour, just a touch acidic. Less fruity and more tannic. Finish is fairly dry and a bit minerally.
Thin to medium bodied. It's good but it needs more depth to the flavor to measure up to the Belgian classics of this style.

 

Pours a mostly clear brown color with a surprisingly full brown head, and when the beer settles, there are ruby hues on the edges. Gorgeous beer.

The nose is full of tart berry aromas, which I really like, and a nice oaky note, with a tannin note that is reminiscent of a nice wine, and a bit of stone fruit (plums and cherries). Wow.

The taste is tart raspberry, cherries and plums, a nice smooth oak note and a lot of tannin influence, edging toward wine, especially in combination with the medium mouthfeel that is as smooth as the oak, but not too soft.

I don’t get the opportunity to try many beers in this style, but this one is excellent, IMHO.

 

 

 

 

Bottle from the brewery in Livingston, NY. Pours a clear dark amber almost ruby red, with a finger of off-white semi-rocky head, that lingers, limited lacing, smell is sour dark fruit, plum skin, tart raspberry, blackberry, cherry hard candy, cherry/raspberry leather, oak, hints of verbena and vanilla, taste is baked whole apples, jammy red wine, sour plum skin, tart blackberry, oak, dark funky wheat, hints of herbaceous/grassy lemon zest, feel is light, medium carbonation and acidity. A fruity tannic red wine spritzer, adult welches grape soda.

 

500 mL bottle. Deep reddish brown. Smells of dark fruits and light vinous acidity. Tastes of bread, dry oak, dark fruits, and a tempered red wine tang. Dry finish. Medium body. Very drinkable. Wasn't enthused at first, but it grew on me.

poured from a bottle (May2020) into a Belgian glass

L: pours that ruby red-brown you’d expect from a Flemish red, clear with moderate visible carbonation. Moderate off-white/cream head that fades after a bit but leaves a thin head that sticking around ~10 minutes post pour. Nice lacing left with each sip

S: nicely sour aroma right off the bat, with some deeper red white/fruit notes right behind. Get notable red wine/tannin character, cranberry, slight malty sweetness. Some orange peel coming through as it’s opened up

T: follows the nose well, rewarding complexity immediately. Get that red wine from the nose, assertive but appropriate tartness, fig, caramel, cranberry. A bit tart than the nose suggests (which was elevated) but nicely balanced acidity. Like the nose get more orange peel as it’s warmed in the glass. Long finish, that wine barrel carrying through for a considerable period of time

F: appropriately drying, medium carbonation, medium- body

O: really great Flemish red(-inspired ale). Interesting nose with very rewarding complexity on the sip, both to start and as it’s warmed in the glass

 

 

Poured from a 500 ml bottle dated 6/18 into the test glass. Served at 55 ish degrees
A - Beautiful dark ruby color, clarity is excellent, carbonation is determined to feed a well constructed off white cap.
With each pull the stranded lacing clings in abtract fashion.
S - Dark cherry, hint of tobacco, toasted oak, fresh balsamic, some tannins and a hint of rye, with a kiss of Brett.
T - Delicate in the fruit, again dary cherry, some fresh fig, red wine, hint of vanilla, again that blonde tobacco, with notes of char.
M - Medium in body, carbonation dances across the palate, the acidity and tannin are in delightful balance, pleasing is the main descriptor. Linger has enough acidity to keep the sweet in check
O - A very good to style Flanders , the time in the basement has of course allowed for any edges to be rounded. This is a delight in every catagory

 

Very good head production for the style. Several minutes later, there's still a thick ring and light cream topping to the brew. Body is crystal clear and a reddish-amber color.

Very nice Flanders Red nose: sharp vinegar, oak, cherry, tannin, vanilla, overripe dark fruit, rye bread. Not overly strong, but without noticeable flaw.

Nicely sour, growing throughout the sip, balanced by worlds of tannin and oak. Very woody. Malt profile is quite grainy, with a bit of overripe dark fruit. Sourness is on the moderate-to-high level, mostly vinegar and tannins. Mild musty funk as well, growing as the beer warms (and I suspect with age, as well).

A touch fizzy on the palate; I would prefer a smoother body, in particular for the style.

Overall a very nice American take on a Flanders Red Ale. Compared to perhaps the benchmark in the style, Rodenbach Grand Cru, it lacks some of the depth and complexity, and comes across a little watery. It's very pleasant to drink, however, and certainly lacks any major flaws. The amount of time spent on oak definitely shines through. With some Brett-like funk, it's almost the Orval of Flemish sours, if that makes sense.