Sigma
Picobrouwerij Alvinne

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from fridge temp. Not a lot of head, which is a bit surprising for Alvinne. I have had quite a few bottle overflow upon opening. Pours a nice dark brown/reddish. Nose is sour grapes, citrus peel, funk, hay. Taste is blueberries, grapes, blackberries, sour candy, wheat, and oak. This is absolutely awesome.

 

 

I purchased this bottle at The Bottle Shop in Bruges. I don't know if it is a year round, one off, or seasonal. I picked it out and the personable, knowledgeable employee told me that I made a good choice.

Poured from a 33 CL brown bottle.

Appearance: Dark, hazy, wine-like with almost no head

Aroma: Sour cherry, clove, vinous

Taste: Cherry up front, then notes of chocolate in the finish, lip smacking

Mouthfeel: Low carbonation. Alcohol is hidden.

Overall: I am thoroughly enjoying this and hope I can find more before I leave this beautiful country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another bottle from the depths of The Bottle Backlog here at Chez Woody is making its presence known!

From the bottle: "Alvinne Sour Collection"; "Dark sour ale - mixed fermentation - with dried hop flowers - aged in stainless steel - contains: barley malt"; "Morpheus Yeast inside".

I Pop!ped the cap & having read that last, I preferred to keep it in the bottle, so I performed a VERY gentle pour. An in-glass swirl raised two fingers of foamy, rocky, light-tan head with moderate retention. Nose smelled of dried sour cherries, like when my uncle begins a batch of Montmorency cherry wine! Mmm. Color was Dark Brown to Very Dark Brown (SRM = > 27, < 34) with NE-quality clarity. Mouthfeel was medium. The taste was very much of sour cherries, catching me right on the hinges of my jaw! This was fantastic. I love sour cherry & despite what the label said, I thought that I got a touch of wood, like oak, perhaps, not stainless steel. Man, this was the best of the three, so of course it is discontinued! The nose was not overpowering, the taste was just sour enough for Baby Bear's liking, the mouthfeel was right & the taste was very vinous, quite evocative of Steve's sour cherry wine. Finish was dry, but not puckering or overpowering. I could drink this more often!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Opaque dark brown beer with thin mocca head, low retention, some laces.
Smell - dark fruits, yeasts, metallic.
Taste - candy, slightly vinegar, dark fruits.
Medium body and carbonation.
Good beer with interesting local yeast strain.

 

DATE: October 30, 2016... OCCASION: finished cleaning up the house for our Halloween party tomorrow... GLASSWARE: Duvel tulip... Explosion! uncapped this guy, turned my back, and a puddle is on the island... luckily, I had two 11.2 ounce bottles; the second met with me with equal "zeal"... pouring into the oversized tulip, its effervescence is tamed to a degree, but a midnight black body is tough to ignore... its head is a brown mass of pocked foam akin to a sponge, its center a lactic creaminess... blackberries, raspberries, pear, apple, as well as some lactic hints--milky sweetness flirting with fruity tartness... a slow, subtle sipper that elicits nursing, though at 10% ABV, no bite exists...medium to full-bodied traction, lively but not reckless in its effervescence... this flavor profile intrigues: at first, a fruity tootsie roll, then anise and wild berries build a tart, nearly puckering profile, before the lactic, oyster stout-like brine finishes at the throat... tannins bring out a wine-like quality... nutty, okay and a dessertif of an ale, with enough dimensions to make me seek it out again--and to rue the spilled froth that I lost upon opening! As the glass drains, a brown shade is pulled down, making this an even more attractive glass...even a bit of peat--much is loaded in here... I can see some fans of this style not feeling it tart enough, but added dimensions make this stout and powerful offering more than appealing... the only thing missing is the funk that often accompanies the great sours... still, a great find in a break-pack twelve-pack....

 

Deep brown coloured brew with plenty of foam. Worthy to note that it needs a good chilling lest you lose some via gushing.

Very acidic smell with both a fruity and vinegar like sourness. Some of a hoppy nose seeks through though I can't give it a decent descriptor.

Fruity sour, quite acidic, a healthy malt sweetness, complexity is the nature of this beast whilst the alcohol is on the timid side.

Medium body, slick mouthfeel, excellent Flemish Brown all around. Too bad it's retired; reasonably priced is another plus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Funky oak, thick balsamic vinegar, and hints of chocolate tickle the nose first and foremost. Stout-like characters of molasses and figs also faintly surface as the beer warms up, familiar caramel and toasted malts is present on the back end as well.

A very pronounced acetic sour flavor attacks the tongue before anything else, with roasty oak and dark fruits immediately following up. A malty sweetness is what is left behind after the initial puckery onset, but neither of the flavors linger on for too long.

Light to medium body with a good amount of carbonation. Not too prickly on the tongue. There's surprisingly a wine-like tannic after taste to this one, however, which probably makes it the most "complex" out of the three greek-letter themed Alvinne beers.