Cuvée De Ranke

Brewed by Brouwerij De Ranke
Style: Sour Ale
Dottignies/Dottenijs, Belgium

Bottle: pours a hazy orangish brown with no head, tart aroma of sour cherries, taste is tart, dry, flat, not overly impressed with this one...maybe I got a bad bottle or maybe this sour just doesn’t do it for me.

25.4 oz, bottled July 2007. Clear copper brown with some beige bubbles. Nose is peach, citrus peel and honey. Hints of leather with a peppery sting. Medium body with a faint tingle. Taste is cherry juice and lemon; briefly sweet. Dry, woody finish with lingering tart green plum and pit.

According to the bottle, this one was brewed in April of 08. Pours a little dissapointing, the liquid looks good but the head disappeared before I could move into my living room. Smell however is much better, I get some lemon, tarty funk. Sour territory. Taste is vinegary funk over lemon, golden apple, very light tartness that gets bigger at the end. Very nice. Mouth is a little issue, this is a medium body drink, but I feel the carbonation needs to be a little higher. Not terrible by any means, just some room for improvement or maybe asking to be aged. This is a good, solid beer that has some room for improvement. I would like to buy one to age a bit longer. Cheers!

Lots of funky fruity funk on the aromas. More on the flavor. Some sweetness too. Pretty darn tasty

Sampled at the ’09 RBPTE, courtesy of cheapdark. Light wheat malt and no hops, but a big yeasty, barnyard, cheesy nose. Great sour nose. Hazy light golden amber body with creaym white lacing, lasting head. Light bodied with with lively carbonation and astringent after. Heavy acidic tang, funky yeasty taste, tart and delicious. Medium bitter after. Nice sour.

Hazy amber gold with thin head. Mellow pear drop and citrus aroma. Just a kiss of tart and sourness, nice long finish. Great mouthfeel, like that popping candy. Fresh but dry and hoppy. Lovely.

Bottled 75cl. Appearance: Murky orange with an average-sized, slightly fizzy off-white head. Some lacework. Aroma: Brett, lemon peel, candy, apple, oak, faint malt, hops, white grape and vanilla- very nice and inviting. Flavor and palate: Balanced sourness. Medium to full bodied. Hints of grapefruit, vanilla, lemon peel, white grape and apple. Long dry finish which is reminiscent of lemon peel and candy. Overall impression: Very pleasant. My kind of Sour Ale. I enjoyed this example a lot more than Rodenbach Grand Cru for example.

This one poured a darker yellow color with a white head. Aroma was very tart, a little funfky and some lemon zest as well. Flavor was typical sour beer, light maltiness, dry, funky some citrus as well.