Rodenbach Grand Cru - Botting & Carbonation

A couple of guesses, assuming this is true-
Pasteurization essentially 'freezes' the flavors of beer in place, as well as kills any bugs that may have gotten in during the time in the barrel. They obviously like the flavor where it is, and don't think the risk is worth any potential benefit of not pasteurizing.

One benefit of bottle conditioning is that the active yeast will make use of whatever oxygen gets in during bottling, staving off oxidation. The acidity of Rodenbach Grand Cru can serve the same puropse, so no real need to bottle condition on that end.

 

So this means aging any bottle of this is futile? The flavors will not develop or mature?

 

I have definitely seen and consumed sediment in this beer.

By the way, nice avatar.

 

I don't know about futile- you can always try and see what happens. The general rule, though, is that pasteurization stops the aging process ('aging process' generally means 'going bad in a good way' )

This short article lays out the basics:
http://www.beer-universe.com/beer-education-article/2010-01-19/The-Art-of-Aging-Beer/

 

This article doesn't speak specifically to Rodenbach, but since La Folie owes its roots (and likely far more) to Rodenbach, there are likely to be crossovers:

http://embracethefunk.com/2012/06/26/lauren-salazar-of-new-belgium-qa/

Scroll down about 35/40% of the way for direct info that may pertain to this, but the entire article is well worth reading.

 

Good example- some rules were made to be broken, I guess. In that particular beer it's probably more that the sherry-like oxidized flavors go well with the style.

 

Not sure what "beer universe" that Beer-Universe is in, but this is nonsense:

Pasteurized beer continues to age/go stale - which is why the pastuerized products of AB and MC and other breweries have brewery-suggested shelf life periods of 3-4 months, and why pasteurized beers will get cloudy, sweet and eventually form a sediment.


To quote the Master Brewers Assoc. of the America's The Practical Brewer:

 

Yeah- I acknowledged that staling/oxidation still happens in that post above. I think they mean it in terms of the beneficial development of flavors, though, which is why I initially said 'freeze' in this thread. I'm pretty sure I got that phrasing from an old Terry Foster book, but I'll have to check that out tonight.

 

Rodenbach Grand Cru (and other Flanders-style sour beers) are probably pasteurized to kill the wild yeast responsible for souring the beer. The brewers likely intend for the beer to be left with a little residual sweetness, and since the wild yeast and bacteria are capable of fermenting any and all remaining sugars, the beer would dry out completely and overcarbonate in the bottle if not pasteurized. This is not an issue for non-sour beers as standard brewer's yeast can only achieve partial attenuation. Nor is it an issue for other sours (lambic, gueuze, etc.) since those beers generally dry out completely leaving no residual sugar.

As far as aging the beer goes, even without live yeast the beer is still an unstable product susceptible to changes. Chemical compounds will still form and break down, and oxidation will still slowly set in. As someone who's managed to sit on a bottle of Rodenbach Grand Cru for 6 years, I can safely say that it goes through quite the transformation!

 

To take a cue from the article that @F2brewers posted above:

Rodenbach Grand Cru is fantastic right when you buy it, and it seems it is intended to be enjoyed right away.

I know it doesn't last too long around me, usually in two ways- first when I buy it (I'll open it within days), and then when it's opened .

 

I asked Rudi Ghequire (current head brewer at Rodenbach) this same question when I visited Rodenbach in 2012. He said it will be more or less stable for several years with no major changes other than a smoothing out or mellowing of any rough edges. Personally, it's fine either way.

I'm just glad Palm picked them back up for distribution. For a while in the early 2000s, there was no Rodenbach to be found in the US.

 

I think that beer should always be drunk. Crazy, I know, but that's what I do when I buy it.

 

"smoothing out", "mellowing of rough edges", I like those terms describing what happens to Rodenbach because that aging is very subtle and hard to realize unless tasted side by side with a current bottling. I was at the "re-introduction" party in Philly in 2005 at Monks during the Craft Beer Convention where they served some 10 year old Rodenbach as well as a couple of aged versions on kegs. What an epic week that was.

Yes, by all means, drink them right away because there is no need to age it, but if you can hold onto one for a while the Grand Cru at least gets smoother. A local brewpub here in town had some long delays in opening and the owners had held onto a wide variety of whales for their grand opening which included some 6 year old Rodenbachs - they were delightful.

BTW, I don't think Strube Grand Cru holds up as well, at least not in the small bottles

 

I was thinking about aging one a couple years, and pouring it out for my homies