Ichtegems Grand Cru

Brewed by Brouwerij Strubbe
Style: Sour Ale
Ichtegem, Belgium

Bottled. Copper colour, small head. Light vinegary nose. Rather light bodied. Dry, despite some fruity malt sweetness, notes of oak, butter, tart lingonberry and cherry. Lightly citric and vinegary. Pretty good, but not as complex as the best Flemish browns IMO.

75 cl bottle. Pours reddish/amber with a nice creamy lasting beige head. Sourish oak aroma, vinous, berries, strawberry, earthy, woody and a bit fruity. Fruity, sourish flavor, sour notes, some oak, vinous, grapefruits notes, some bitterness, some pepper. Woody finish with vinous and fruity notes.

Bottle, 75 cl, Cuveé 2005. Pours a reddish brown colour with a tan head. Raspberries, redcurrants, some vinegar and some vanilla from the oak barrels. Flavour has some malty sweetness. Quite malty. Redcurrants, some vinegar, vanilla and quite a lot of butter - especially in the finish!

ZBF2008: From tap. Pours dark brown with a dense tan head. Light berry fruity aroma. Flavour is berry fruity swept in a dry roasted malt flavour. Mixed sweet and dry. Very smooth and creamy mouthfeel. Ends with a lingering dry malt flavour and a mild berry note on top.

Poured a reddish brown into the snifter with a big fluffy white head. Scents of rotten fruit, malt and vinegar. Flavors were all messed up here. Cranberries and some burnt wood. I tasted some grapes and bread to finish. I didn’t care for this beer.

ZBF08. Very dark brown colour. Really nice creamy head, very stable, light brown. Caraway seed aroma?! Perhaps some sweat. A little of the same in the flavour along with some good tartness. Strange beer, but not bad.

Bottle, 75cl Cubée 2005. Deep red/copper clear colour, with a nice huge creamy head. Aroma was of Viny, fruity ,citrus, a nice sournes in the end. Flavor was, almost the same, but has a pappry dry mouth feeeling, a dominans of raspberries/sweetnes. Thin to medium body, and a mild medium fruity finish. Nice!

At ZBF 2008, Sint Niklaas, Belgium
Deep brown, hazy body. Subtle aroma of wood and cherries. Moderately bitter, lightly sour initial flavour. Moderately sour, lightly bitter finish. Metallic mouth feel. Bit odd, not that well balanced.