The Oak Melchior Special Edition Pur Sang
Picobrouwerij Alvinne

Look: It pours a cloudy reddish peach color. It has an off white head with low head retention.

Smell: It has a sour aroma to it with cherries and white wine.

Taste: It has strongly tart flavors with wood and wine elements. There are cherry notes in the background. The alcohol is noticeable.

Feel: It has a medium body with strong alcohol in the finish.

Overall, an interesting combination of flavors. The wood is a little stronger than I would like, but still good.

Wine over cherry on this one. Nice oak presence.

Bottle shared by Matthew. Thank you!

Wet, cherrywood aroma. Oak flavors with that ever-Alvinne ability to dial down the sour. Love it.

a real special, and based on its page here, apparently fairly rare bottle of beer. pur sang special edition with cherries, a huge huge thanks to my brother for tracking this one down and sharing it with me, easily one of the best beers we shared together in 2016. murky pale color with some fine sediment in suspension and not a ton of head on it, although some carbonation is visible. heavy red wine aroma, taic and oaky, with the dried fruit notes that could only come from such a barrel treatment. the cherries added to this special edition bring that element out even more, and the acidity here is crazy, this is really sour, makes my mouth water just smelling it. some real funk though in the flavor to go with the acidity, obviously a pretty cool mixed culture working here, very mature too, this is no doubt evolved a lot in the bottle over the years. the cherries do lend a little sweetness to it, really nice with the heavy sweet wood, and still some appreciable cerealy wheat character underlying all of it. the acidity has a lemon tone, but is quite acetic, and it does roll over the fruit by the finish. very wine-like all the way though too, even in the feel, which is somewhat fuller bodied and pretty mellow on the bubbles, woody, and lingering. this is something super unique to alivnne, more than just the fermenting agents, but the entire process and overall complexion. these guys make some incredible beers, and this is one of my favorites of theirs so far! not to be missed, but i have never seen this for sale here in the states, so might be a tough one to track down...

500ml bottle. Served in a snifter glass. Pours a murky brown body, slightly purple hue, half finger white head, bits of lacing, not much retention. Smells incredibly vinous, lots of cherry skin, tons of tannins, oak. Flavour is heavy on the tannins, with cherry skin, fair bit of cherry juice, very light cherry tartness. Mouthfeel is medium-lighter bodied, lighter carbonation, heavily tannic finish. Weird beer, not the most drinkable, and the tannins are feeling heavy on the palate.

 

This pours a fairly clear deep amber with an inch of foam.

Smells of fruity, woody sour notes with a hint of Brett.

Fruity sour taste with some wood, Very small suggestion of Brett but I could be imagining that. All around, smooth, tasty, easy to drink for 11% abv. And, it was not a gusher.

This is worthy of a repurchase.

 

Why do I always pluck these weird ones off-the-shelf ?
Is every beer worthy of compassion and love ?
Well, no. (In some cases, "hell no!")
But this "fruity, non sour red beer" as advertised on the label is enough of that.
Fruity? Yes, I get that.
Non-sour? Not really, it has an underlying sourness... but that is OK as part of its charm.
Red? No. Pink.
Buy again. No. Brewed only once. Buy again if brewed again? Probably so, but I would share it with someone adventurous who also buys weird ones off-the-shelf.

Pours clear ruddy brown, but within a Unibroue tulip glass it had an iridescent ruby quality. The head is rocky, white with pink hues, and briefly reaches a quarter inch before leaving spotty lace as it quickly dissipates.

Earthy sourness yields to reveal sweet plum and a variety of spices, including clove and allspice. Warmth brings out a greater earthy quality as well as oak. A hint of Merlot is also detectable.

The light bitterness is balanced with sweetness and tartness. This is very fruity with sour cherries. There is a nice, lingering, modest finish with layers of complexity.

A medium body and modest alcohol. The silky smooth texture lends itself to soft carbonation and a dry finish.

This beer was reviewed to my personal taste, as, in my opinion, it is more likely a Flemish Red due to color, aroma and flavor. The delicacy of character makes for a pronounced contrast to its boldness. I enjoyed this as a sipping beer while relaxing, but it could equally well be served during conversation.

 

 

Dry, fruity bitterness. This one pours like champagne. Strong cherry smell and dank aftertaste. Also a bit sour with lingering wine essence. This one is strong and good.

 

 

look: mostly clear red. Looks like a light colored red wine with a slight head.
smell: Mostly fruit with a slight tartness. Quite a deep nose though not many individually discernible notes. Not getting any oak but i'm betting it added to the depth.
taste: Much like the nose. Lots of fruit with a slight tartness. Mostly dry.
overall: Very nice. Refreshing and tasty on a hot day.

 

 

Aroma of oak, floral, citrus, malt, grapes, sherry, raisins. Taste jammy fruit, peach, wood, floral, vinous finish. ABV hidden.