Petrus Trader Joe's Aged Pale - Foeder No. 102
De Brabandere

A - Golden orange, clear pour, with a short white head that fades to a thin ring, moderate thin line lacing.

S - Flat, simple acidity, with strong vinegar notes that overpower the wood and wine elements that surface around the edges.

T - Tart, like the nose, but with more room for the wine and oak that in the nose were blasted out by vinegar. Not that the acidity is not forward - it is, but the taste is more rounded, and satisfying as a result.

M - The sourness comes through on the tongue, prickly and sharp, but the body is integrated, and the finish comes away surprisingly clean.

O - The result is solid if not exactly what I look for in a Belgian Pale. I enjoyed the flavors, and the feel is good, but the sourness is just too forward to be a home run. Still, very good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i heard this was relatively inexpensive, which is cool and i think its neat the do custom bottlings for trader joes, didnt realize these guys made enough beer to accommodate all these stores. i guess this is the second aged pale they have done, following foeder 222, which i missed. i was recently talking up how good an old bottle of the regular aged pale was, so lambic-esque, but this is not that, and either these need additional bottle ageing, or they depend heavily on blending to make it as good as it is. its clarity is remarkable for a wood aged beer, the lightest orange shade of yellow, beautiful bubbling and a lasting half inch of white head, thick for what it is. the aroma is sharp, i still get some apple from the calvados vessels it was aged in, but the intensity of the acidity is too much, i get some sweet white dessert wine, a white port thing, mild apricot too, but its straight vinegar, acidic as can be, harsh even, tough to even smell it deeply when we first pour it. the flavor would be awesome if it wasnt for the vinegar, its like a flanders red type sourness without the malt or sweetness to balance it. its really harsh and exposed on the palate, but it has so much potential, the calvados and oak are strong too, white wine, candied orange, and some neat botanical bitterness. this might need extensive ageing, but i really cant see the sourness going down over time. its obvious that the blending in of other ages of this same base is what makes the original so drinkable. this is intense but interesting, a fun experiment, but not one i am in a rush to drink again. two people had trouble finishing the whole bottle...