Flat Earth Rode Haring Flanders Red Ale

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

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.

Bottle that I think came from DalzAle. Pours amber/mahogany with a thin ring of light white bubbles. Smells acidic/sour with some residual sugar and funk. Tastes dry, tarte and funky with a nice sourness on the finish.

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.

Second beer sampled on draught at the GTMW ’08. Pours a hazy reddish brown amber brew with a thin and creamy off-white head that has some nice spotty lacing. Aroma of mild caramel malt, tart cherries, light apples, some Belgian yeast, and a hint of honey. Taste is mildly sour, medium bodied, some carbonation with flavors of caramel malt, tart cherries, and some Belgian yeast. Finish continues its mild sour aftertaste of light cherry and some caramel malt. Not as distinct as its base Extra Medium but still a decent sour to enjoy again.

ABR 2008. Aroma of tart cherries. Flavor begins with some sweetness, finishes tart/sour.

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.

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.

Deep amber pour with a thick off white head. Aroma is woody, tart cherry fruitiness, light funk. Flavour has a hint of funk in the tartness, woody maltiness, tart fruit finish. Very drinkable.