Cuvée D'or Rouge
Springdale Beer Co.

Close to perfect barrel aged sour ale. I wish Springdale would skip most of their fruited beers and produce beers like this or ghost species and noonanbach. Their kriek is far too tart for me and most of the fuited beers I have little interest in but Cuvee D'or Rouge is wonderful. Something about wine barrel aged and blended sours works for me. This is a an excellent example. I stock up whenever this comes out. I guess it's no surprise that a cuvee beer is my favorite offering from any brewery. It is after all a blend of the best barrels. Springdale's is very good.

The minor head is brief, settling to zero bubbles and no lacing. Darker amber color with a hint of red. Appears clear.

Lightly sour with a pleasant semisweet caramel nose. Very close to the Belgian cousins.

There's a sour cherry taste which intensifies to the swallow. Neutral to thinner body The carbonation is lower than most beers but appropriate for this style. Moderate strength aftertaste which fades quickly.

1 pint. 9 fl. Oz bottle. # 04929

A seriously deep amber color with golden and ruby red highlights. A tan tinted foamy cap is quickly created from big carbonation, fizzy and lively. The head forms and then literally fizzles out, the wild yeast is clearly still active.

The nose is delightfuly fruity sweet and sour. Red berries fermented, sour golden wheat, light but tangy malt, sweet but woody oak, like old mahogany and cedar all pop right out of the glass. Tart wild yeast, not seriously funky but certainly sour. Really nice.

The flavor starts out with a sour wild yeast, not funky...more like a french Farmhouse style or fruity sparkling red wine. The "red" side of the flavor or maltiness is lightly sweet. The oak barrel ageing adds subtle old wood tones and maybe a hint of vanilla-style sweetness. Tangy and sour, not ever metallic, but a decent sour bite is right on. The mix of sour and sweet is very well balanced. Young cherries, green grass, oak all come tgrough the seriously sharp, light, spakling mouthfeel and texture.

The hops and yeast seem very grassy, wild and tart. Excellent wild berries and red cherries style sweetness, lively and airy feel all adds up to one very complex but seriously easy to drink wild ale. I'm really enjoying this.

 

 

One of the better (if not the best) unfruited sour from Springdale. Picking up way more oak and funk (even though funk is restrained, not full on horse blanket by any means) than in others. Acidity is light-medium, carbonation is nice and definitely makes for a greater percieved acidity. Great balance with elements of the blonde sours and red/brown sours blended to make this.

 

 

 

 

Pours a dull mahogany with a hazy clarity and a loose head that quickly disperses into a tight band around the shoulders. Great nose on this beer - toasted oak, vanilla and dark fruit. Taste expresses tart dark fruit. Oak is present but diminished. Mouthfeel is light-medium in body with an even carbonation, a light acidity and a dry finish. Overall, the nose on this beer was fantastic; however, the full effect didn't transfer to the flavor profile. Nice job nonetheless.

 

 

Enjoyed from a bottle picked up from the brewery three weeks ago. Dark golden amber hue beneath a puffy white head that last for a few minutes. Vacillates between brown and amber depending on the light. Aroma is green apple, underripe cherries, red wine, oak. Gets the taste buds tingling. Taste is like a combo between a kriek/lambic/Flemish red - sour cherries , raspberries, sour lemon, grape must, funk, barrel and red wine tannins. Highly carbonated which makes it drink more like a refreshing tart ale than a sipper. Great balance - not too funky, sweet or tart.