Ichtegems Grand Cru

Brewed by Brouwerij Strubbe
Style: Sour Ale
Ichtegem, Belgium

Bottle at home - tasting. Red/brown - white head. Nice smooth body. Malty, sweetness, brown sugar, carpenter-glue, light sourish, woody, tar, red berries. Very nice.

33cl bottle from mcbackus at Knightly Spirits;Cap says 08 2010 so I guess that is best by; Nose is slightly funky cherries and woodiness; dark cherry brown with a small beige head; flavor is minor tartness with light cherries, and a lot of oakiness; finish slightly tart. Is this really a "SOUR" ale?

Pours out a dark ruby red. Aroma is very nice with tart cherries and oak meeting the nose with a touch of vanilla at the end. The aroma really is awesome and I found it to be the best part about the beer. The taste is slightly sour and not nearly as much as the aroma would let you believe. This beer takes a more subtle approach and focuses more on the malts, cherries, and oak aging rather than the sour for the focus of the flavor. Sourheads will be very disappointed in this one. Even I found myself slightly upset when the flavor of the beer didn’t deliver anything near the wonderful level of flavor that was presented in the aroma.

Pours dark garnet with a fizzy tan head. The aroma has gentle sourness, dark cherry, prevalent malt, oak, milkiness, cream and vanilla. Medium smooth body with some minor soft carbonation. The flavor starts off with a creamy & sour blend that is not biting like many of the style. There is more malt noticeable than the norm as well along with dark berries and vanilla. The finish is short with a good deal of oak. Decent sour ale.

Bottle @ redlight redlight. Pours a red-tinged amber with a faint head that fades quickly. Subdued nose, mild tart, some vanilla, hints of sweet malt. Very smooth and slick, with a malty sweet edge leading to a mild tartness. Hints of acetic. Light sourness, cherries?, and oak. Decent Flemish red, seemed a little dialed back, but still enjoyable.

Pours deep ruddy brown with a very thin tan head that dissipates quickly. Nose is tart fruit and a hint of oak. The flavor is quite complex with the same influences from the nose, but just containing more fruit and complexities. The finish is unique and enjoyable, with a bit more fruitiness, a subtle tartness, and a bit of nuttiness. As far as sours go, quite enjoyable and worthy of a higher score.

Decent, I think this is pretty underrated. Not terribly sour though, its actually quite malty and rich, with some vinous fruit and woody notes for the sour part, but just has more puckering acidity than sourness. Pretty drinkable overall.

Bottle at PP bottle shop. Ryan thought this was OK, but I loved it for some reason. Not sour for a sour ale. Lots of oak in the aroma. Malty. Sweet creamy texture. Very drinkable. Medium body. Amber color. Yum! 8,3,8,5,18:4.2 Rerate at WeeHeavySD’s: 8,3,7,3,16: 3.7.