Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour Ale - Brouwerij Van Steenberge, Ertvelde
Style:
Oud Bruin
Serving Type:
Bottle
Alcohol by Volume:
5.5%
Aroma:
Funky sour cherry and malt vinegar. Odd combination
Appearance:
Deep reddish brown body with tiny bubbles and a very thin white head
Flavor:
More sweet than sour, velvety but tart... cherry and oak flavors are noticeable up front but the finish is an odd combination of sour and tart
Mouthfeel:
Smooth texture but not something you could drink in great quantities without a lot of practice
The Belgians are an interesting bunch... Their beers are among the world's best. The abbey style ales that come from Belgium are some of my favorite beers I've ever had. Belgians, being a little ...out there, have some more interesting ales in their stable as well, and that's what I've got today. I sat down with this Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour Ale not knowing exactly what to expect. I've had a few American Oud Bruin style beers before, they were sweet and sour brown ales usually brewed with a bit of cherry flavor. That's the only frame of reference I really had. It's safe to say this Flemish Sour is nothing like the Oud Bruins I've had before...
I don't really mean that in the nicest way either... Not that this is a terrible beer, it's just weird. This beer smells like cherry scented malt vinegar... What? You've never had cherry malt vinegar? Me neither, and there is good reason... because it'd be gross. The aroma is intriguing to say the least, so I played along and went in for a sip.
The flavor of this beer is complex... there is a lot going on here. Busy doesn't necessarily translate as as good though. There are some interesting flavors in this beer... noticeably lacking however is the flavor of beer itself. The primary flavor in this beer has to be the tart cherry lambic and oak aged sour brown. Both are great on their own but when the flavors mix in your mouth it's a little nasty...
I had a hard time drinking much more than half a glass of this beer. The flavors really didn't agree with me. There are plenty of reasons to try this beer, it's quite unique and an good example of what is possible... but, in the end I didn't care for this beer. So if you're looking for something pretty far out in left field, give this a try but consider yourself warned.
Comments
Have you ever had Duchesse De
Have you ever had Duchesse De Bourgogne? It is a better example of the style, but still an acquired taste.
I respectfully disagree...
I love having a Flemish/Flanders Red Ale on the occasion. I understand that it tastes "weird" but having a unique taste is refreshing on my palate after trying variation after variation on what I suppose you would call a "normal" style.
I find the Monk's Cafe Sour to be somewhere in the middle for a typical Sour Ale. The Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale is probably at the bottom with the Duchesse taking top spot for "cherry malt vinegar".
On the plus side you can always use it for a nice salad dressing if you cant finish the bottle!
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