Flanders Red Ale

I have the same problem occasionally, along with wild ales. Flanders reds and browns tend to be milder, but are still great sours, and have never given me troubles. Check out Cuvee Des Jacobins - the best of the Flanders Red style, imho. Rodenbach Grand Cru is another good place to start, as it is a perfect example of the style, cheap, and available everywhere.

 

Cuvee Des Jacobins Rouge is so damn good....

 

Flanders Reds and Oud Bruins have more body than gueuzes and tend to be a little sweeter than most lambics (save for the sweetened fruit lambics). As for sourness... it depends on what lambics you've tasted. In general, most reds/bruins can't hold a candle to level of sourness you find in gueuzes. (Cuvee Des Jacobins Rouge is definitely an exception: the most sour red I've ever tasted.)

In addition to the beers mentioned, I'd also recommend Rodenbach 2009 Vintage and Liefmans Goudenband

 

I really enjoy Rodenbach with some nice sharp cheeses. Also, to those who have some digestive issues when they take on some unusual microflora, a regular probiotic might help manage that. I know my wife and I pretty regularly have some raw milk from a local farmer as well as some of her home made kombucha, but yogurt or something like that could help as well with beefing up your resident gut flora.

 

Just a point of info. I know BA calls them "Flanders Red Ales", but that's wrong. The rest of the beer world uses Flemish Red Ale. Just as things from Spain are Spanish, things(and beers) from the Belgian region of Flanders are Flemish. You wouldn't say England pale ale, right?

 

Bockor doesn't help things either by calling Jacobins a Flanders Red on the front of the bottle and Flemish Sour Ale on the back (and front), haha.

Like mentioned above, Jacobins is the sourest Flemish I've had and it's milder than many of the lambics and gueuzes I've had.

 

Duchesse De Bourgogne converted my wine sipping wife. It's VERY sweet and pretty tart.

 

Cuvee Des Jacobins is really good imo. If you can get your hands on upland gilgamesh then do so. I had it for Thanksgiving and it did not dissapoint!

 

try some Flanders Oud Bruin also like La folie, Madame Rose and Dissident(domestic) and bellegems Bruin and petrus are also good

 

I find Cuvee Des Jacobins overly sweet and can't drink it.

Red Poppy is delicous, as is Gilgamesh and Oude Tart.

Dissident is also fantastic.

 

I would have to disagree with Tut. Both the terms Flanders and Flemish are regularly used in the English speaking beer world. The BJCP uses the term Flanders Red as do the GABF and World Beer Cup judging systems. I do agree that Flemish sounds better and is possibly more correct, but many people in the beer world use Flanders and Flemish interchangeably. My recommendation to the OP is to prepare for a sour session with Tums or an over-the-counter antacid. I took a trip to Belgium this past summer and would not have made it through the trip without an antacid. Also having water crackers or baguettes will assist in soaking up some of the acid that you're introducing to your system. I have to agree that Jacobins Rouge may be the best easily attainable Flemish Red. Red Poppy is good, but pales in comparison to Jacobins. Oude Tart is a great example of the style, but at around $20 a bottle it's not something I drink regularly. Jacobins, however, is ALWAYS in my cellar. Cheers!

 

They can be just as bad as other sour beers.

 

I certainly wouldn't say "Indian Pale Ale".

 

No. Most Flemish Reds and Oud Bruins have mild to moderate tartnesss and are much less acidic than your average Lambic/Gueuze (though this seems to be a point of confusion as your typical Oud Bruin review on BeerAdvocate reads "not sour enough").

 

Nice try Dave, but no cigar. In that case you'd be correct because that style of beer doesn't come from India. IPA's originally were English beers that were exported to India. Now we have English(not England) and American(not America) India Pale Ales, and others, depending on their origin.

Of course, if an IPA was actually brewed in India, we would then call it an INDIAN India Pale Ale.

 

Monk's cafe makes a decent and affordable Flanders oud bruin....worth trying

 

Yes, the Duchesse De Bourgogne is a wonderfully flavorful beer. I do not find it sweet, but it is not overly sour either. The Gueuze's and Lambics that I have had seem to be much lighter bodied then the Flemish (Flanders) Red Ales; because of that, not the sourness, which I agree is more pronounced than in the Red Ales, I do not like them as much. I prefer fuller, more flavorful beers. I rarely drink light beers (and do NOT drink lite beers, i.e., Miller Light), meaning lagers and such.