Flat Earth Rode Haring Flanders Red Ale

Brewed by Flat Earth Brewing Company
Style: Sour Ale
St. Paul, Minnesota USA

Bomber, a bonus from tytoanderson. Thanks Ty. Drinking this while packing a box for him, shared with my gf Cyn. Pours ruddy brown with a tan head. Nose is vinegarry, sweet and slightly tart. Taste is sweet and sour, and funky. Not amazingly sour, but sour nonetheless.

[Bottle] Pours a really nice looking crystal clear ruby red and orange with a somewhat fluffy beige head that rapidly dissipates. Aroma is cherries, some acetic acid, some earthiness, lots of mustiness, and a bit of biscuity malt. Mouthfeel is a little thinner than I was hoping, and the sour is pretty mild. It has plenty of brett character, however. Comes across with some more mustiness, and the finish is surprisingly dry. I think this would benefit from a little bit more age to develop a little more of the acidity I was hoping for.

Bottle #285/500. Pours a clear, red-orange body with off-white, foam head. Aroma of sour apple and sour cherry with a hint of malts and yeast. Flavor is initially sour and tart, then becomes malty in the middle of the palate, and finishes clean and tart. Mouthfeel is a little fizzy, but smooth and easy to drink. Not overly tart.

Shaker pour for $3 at Common Roots in Uptown Minneapolis. Pours with no head yet a lot of visible, despite the thick, dark, murky red/orange body, fast moving carbonation bubble. However, they just can’t seem to form head, it kind of looks cool, all these bubbles rushing to the top and just fizzing out once they get there, kind of like Orangena. Right away in the aroma this comes off as a Flanders Red type beer. The funky aceto hits you fast, its earthy, woody, deep, and vinous. Taste plays toward the spoiled tangerine side of things, with a fruity, musky funk. It has a drying tartness to it and as expected a fizzy mouthfeel. Its still rough around the edges, can definitely be more sour, maybe less young beer in the future and more old beer.

Bottle pours clear amber with a small head. The aroma is of tartness, earthiness, and some funkiness. The flavor is tart, fruity, some funky notes, and generally really nice. The palate is pretty substantial for the style, and I also find it appealing. Overall, I’m pleasantly surprised.

Bottle 227/500. Poured a clear brownish orange and had a very tart apple aroma with noticable yeast. Flavor was initially very tart apple and a little funky farmhouse yeast flavor, although the aftertaste was a little off in my opnion. Overall a good beer that I would buy again.

Growler. Nice sour cherry aspect to this, not overpowering though, but enough to make you puker a little. Sort of like a sour version of NG Belgian Red. really good stuff.

Autumn Brew Review 2008. Murky copper color with a large head. Lots of sourness, oak and cherry aroma. Strong malt body, light fruit/cherry taste. Plenty of sourness, but not mouth puckering. Lightly tart. Very similar to a Rodenbach-style sour. Delicious.