Amour Rouge
Mantra Artisan Ales

 

Not date on the bottle. Poured into a long-neck tulip.

Murky, rust-hued crimson color. Thin, bubbly head rises up to about a half a finger but fizzles away quickly. No lace retention.

Tart cherries and oak on the nose, with a subtle nuttiness that lingers. Hints of raspberry and toffee give a nice subtle complexity. Poured cold there’s an initial metallic aroma but it fades out quickly.

Drinks more like a Berliner than a Flanders, but it’s uniqueness is appealing. Tart raspberries with a mild acidity. A return of that oak presence balances and lingers along with malt flavors throughout. On the back of the palate there’s dark fruit that really helps soften some of the tartness and acidity. A touch of vanilla and funk in the finish round it out well.

Fairly thin, soft but present carbonation. Mildly sticky, with a mild acidity in the finish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was excited to try this one as I'm big Flanders red fan; however I was quickly let down. All the proper features of a Flanders are just not there. Very Little of the following: sour, barnyard, tart, oak, cherry, wine. It's like a weak amber ale that started out to be aged like a Flanders but for only a few weeks instead of the necessary year plus. The bar is set high with Yazoo's Deux Rouges and that is what Mantra should strive for. Not a cheap version that's $10/Six pack.

Poured into a tulip. Beautiful dark copper-ruby color with a thin but resilient tan head.
Aroma: cherry, oak, vanilla, wine, and tart raspberries.
Taste: moderately sour that stayed in the background, highlighting cherries, currants, oak, and vanilla. There was a subtle barnyard funkiness throughout. Sweet cherries on the finish, which remained dry and clean. Medium-bodied.