Cuvée De Ranke

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

Fruity, soft sourness on the nose, with a bit of lactic and caramel. Almost flat, light amber color. Nice and different. Looks like home-pressed apple cider. Sour, fruity flavor, yet quite malty with a bit of caramel. Some warm cherry and apple in the background. Rather bitter finish as well, hoppy; which softened as it warmed up. Very nice balance of great flavors. Great beer to serve very cold and let it warm up on a very hot day. Love the blend.

Had the pleasure of sampling this at the 7/9/2009 Pittsburgh RB tasting extravaganza (PGHRBEXT) at the Sharp Edge Creekhouse. It will be a long time, if ever I see a spread of bottles like I did there. I am not good enough for the beers that were that we served! For example, how about this beer; Deranke Cuvee: Funky barn aroma. Definite lambic smells. Cloudy pale yellow. Some biteer bite in the background of an otherwise very tart and enjoyable sour brew. Quite interesting and entertaining. Farmy flavors all around. Very similar to cantellon iris. I think I detect some hop bitterness on the finish. Very good beer tasting experience.

Sampled from a 750 ml green bottle this beer poured a hazy bright yellow color with a small white head. The aroma was tart and fruity and reminded me of sweettart candies. The flavor was very tart, bitter and dry with Sweettart candies dominating. The finish was long and a bit vinegary. Eh.

Bottle at ’t Brugs Beertje. Hazy yellow with small fizzy head. Aroma is peachy and tart. Taste is tart, hints of green apple on the finish. Hints of malt. Finish is bitter. The tartness is really not overpowering. The blend makes it quite drinkable. It is well balanced.

Hazy brown-orange pour with a thin white head. Vinegar aroma with some lemon. Sour citrus lemon flavor with some fruitiness.

This golden beer poured wit a scraggly off-white head that clings to the glass. There is a funky metallic aroma and a very fruity flavor that is quite sour - like green apples. This is a unique brew that gets better the more you drink.

Golden honey color with a thin cream head that leaves behind a bit of lacing. Aromas of tart apples, yeast, citrus, bit of funk. Tastes predominately of sourness at the start, then fades away to a crisp tartness with more of the citrus and coriander in the finish.

Bottle purchased at Rozi’s in Lakewood many moons ago. Pour is a modest looking hazy orange with slimming white head. Rather attractive, but nothing special. Aroma is vibrant, full of apricots and banana, yeast and other fruity smells. There is a little bit of lemon in the back of that as well. The flavor is very crisp, bitter and tart all at the same time. This has a very nice sour-face aspect to it. It really bites the mouth at first, then opens up to the softer sugary side Bits of grape and coriander open up in the flavor. Not a bad beer at all, quite an enjoyable sour.