Ichtegems Grand Cru

Brewed by Brouwerij Strubbe
Style: Sour Ale
Ichtegem, Belgium

scura schiuma media buona persistenza sentori acetici leggero fruttato un tocca di malto e legno in bocca buon bilanciamente tra acido e dolce un finale piuttosto amaro

The color is red-brown and the head is creamy. The aroma is sour in the right way and it has notes of malt, berries and wood. The flavour has both sourness and sweetness, and I find notes of caramel, wood, berries and hints of vanilla. It’s a really nice one.

33 cl. Clear, deep ruby-chestnut with a creamy half-inch head that lasts and laces well. Aromas of tart berry, molasses, caramelized tomatoes and light malt vinegar. Flavor is tart berry sprinkled with brown sugar, raisins, malt vinegar, and molasses with some leather and wood. Light-medium body is tartly dry and nearly too fizzy.

Bottle: Pours a maroon/ruby with a brown hue and a creamy tan head. The aroma has some dry yeasty notes- mild oak, sweet & tart fruit suggestions (cranberry), dust and mild acetic character. Light fell on the palate. The flavor has a mix of sweet and tart fruitiness (cranberry, mild passion fruit), as well as earthy qualities of oak/wood and dry yeast hints. Not a very complex example of the style, but not bad.

33cL bottle. Pours a very dark, reddish-brown color; light tan head with solid lacing. Lots of overripe red fruits, soft balsamic vinegar, and lightly toasted oak barrels in the aroma; minimal tartness; most definitely a Duchesse-like rendition, though without the sticky sweetness and overbearing balsamic notes; nicely fruity and oaked. Relaxed carbonation. Medium mouthfeel: lots of chewy, overripe red fruits, touches of funk, toasted oak and light vanilla / buttery wooden notes, and some balsamic characteristics; again, the red fruit and woodiness take a very prevalent role over the vinegar; not tart, but balanced with a light citrus acidity; not bad at all, and certainly better than Duchesse. Lengthy finish: red fruits, light tannins, toasty wood, and balsamic.

The missing link between Duchesse de Borgogne and Rochefort 10... not necessarily a sum of those two, but worth trying!

THOUGHTS: Nice beer, but nowhere near as good as other sour ales I’ve had. Definitely different, but too much wood and not enough sour. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a dark reddish brown with a small, off-white head that mostly diminished. The aroma was mostly wood, some grape, prune, apple, smoke, sour fruit, slight vanilla and dust/chalk. There was also some sort of mocha coffee as it warmed. The initial flavor was lightly sweet, moderately acidic, and sour; while the finish was moderately sweet, lightly acidic and bitter, and sour with an average to short duration. The medium to full body was slightly syrupy, but also a little oily with extremely fizzy carbonation and a dry finish.

Bottle from Healthy Spirits in S.F. Date of 11/2012 on the cap. Dark mahogany color with a decent off-white head. Aroma is moderately sour cherry. Near medium body with thinnish carbonation. Flavor is woody cherry with touch of sour. Wood is pretty strong. Seems balanced between sweet and sour. It’s really an excellent sour ale. Or mayhap it’s an oak ale. Lot of wood. Good thing.